This article is from page 29 of the 2005-09-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
CLARE County Council has come under fire over its demand that a 5,000 year old bog oak tree, that forms part of a sculpture, be cut by one metre in order that it can be part of a Loop Head Memorial.
The demand by the Council’s Planning De- partment was this week described as “imprac- tical and crazy” by Kilballyowen Development Associataion Chairman, John Bonfil.
The Association has lodged plans for the proposal and is refusing the Council’s request to reduce the height of the tree that forms part of a Diarmuid and Grainne sculpture to three metres.
In a letter to the Council, the sculptor of the piece, rural-rights campaigner, Jim Connolly said: “The overall height of the sculpture and base which was conceived as a single artwork cannot be interfered with or reduced. This should not be a planning issue as the height is of a natural tree, albeit one that was dug up from a West Clare bog and is approximately 5,000 years old. The tree itself represents an intrinsic part of West Clare history and culture.
“The tree can’t be reduced. I have never heard the likes of it in my life. I hope the Coun- cil accept the sense of what I had to say.”
The tree, which is to be complimented by two three-quarter size bronze figures of Diarmuid
and Grainne, forms part of a twin-memorial dedicated to the memory of five West Clare men who lost their lives just off Loop Head in 1862 and reflecting ties with West Clare.
The men were all pilots who helped navigate ships up the Shannon estuary in the 19th cen- elas
The Council put the plan on hold because of concerns over the height of the proposed struc- ehKeny
In the initial documents lodged with the Council, no mention was made by the appli- cants of the age of the tree that formed part of the Diarmuid and Grainne display, which was initially on show at Shannon airport.
In May, the applicants lodged a photomon- tage of the memorial, stating that the Diarmuid and Grainne display was five metres. In Au- gust, they said it was now four metres high and are were refusing to go any lower.
Mr Bonfil said this week: “We are confident that the proposed memorial will get planning permission. It is a positive for the community. The only thing holding up the project at the moment is the planning. We have received €20,000 for the two memorials through Lead- er and also a contribution from the Foynes Har- bour Authority. We hope to unveil the memo- rials at the 3rd annual Loop Head Gathering Festival next July.