FORMER Republic
of Ireland soccer star, Paul McGrath, was guest of honour at the unveiling of a
collaborative artwork installation on the front wall of the Inchicore Sports
Centre last week.
The event took
place as part of an event to celebrate the conclusion of the Inchicore
Community Art and Sport Project (ICASP).
The artwork
consists of an 18-metre aluminum freeze of images taken from a series of over
30 community art and sport workshops hosted for the local community by artist
Mirjam Keune.
It celebrated
the collaborative effort that the participating groups put into making the
project such a success.
The project was
launched with a very successful Community Sports and Arts Day in March that was
attended by over 400 people from the Inchicore area.
The aim was to
unite the different community groups and reach out to people, especially the
young and most vulnerable, at the fringes of the community through visual art
and sport.
Participating
groups included Dublin City Council, St Michael’s Estate Regeneration Board, St
Michael’s Estate Family Resource Centre, Inchicore Community Drug Team,
Inchicore Intercultural Parent/Carer & Toddler Group, Eala Ã?g Childcare
Centre, Goldenbridge Day Nursery, Bulfin Youth Club, St Michael’s Parish Youth
Project, Canal Communities Intercultural Centre and Inchicore College of
Further Education.
The large crowd
that braved the rain to see McGrath formally launch the artwork also heard from
Nathan Rogers and Aaron James (both 10) who explained the sports and art
activities they took part in with Bulfin Youth Club.
The boys
received signed footballs from McGrath who they described as
“a bit of a
legend
?.
The evening also
featured music from the St James Street Brass Band and entertainment from local
sports and dance groups.