Search on for sculptor

MYSTERY surrounds the whereabouts of the sculptor who created a 12 foot bronze statue recently moved to a new location on the Finglas Road.

The statue, which is known locally as the Mother and Child, was originally located in a hedgerow of the Finglas By-Pass but became hidden for most of the year due to overgrowth.

However, following a motion put forward by local councillor, Paul McAuliffe (FF), and supported by fellow local politicians, it was moved to its current location at an open space in Ballygall on the Finglas Road.

Cllr McAuliffe said Dublin City Council officials have told him the story behind the sculpture is

“interesting, complicated and still being unravelled.

?

“While it may have found a new home, the official name and the identity of the sculptor was more difficult to find,

? he added.

Cllr McAuliffe posted pictures of the statue on his Facebook page and was approached by local woman, Adrienne Farrelly, who was able to reveal more details about the sculpture.

“Adrienne told me that in 1996, as a school girl in Saint Canice’s Girls school, she won a completion to name the statue and actually visited the sculptor in her studio,

? said Cllr McAuliffe.

Adrienne was one of 100 local children from four local schools who helped design the bronze blanket that drapes the statue and she came up with its official name

‘Let the Life Flow Through’.

The name is a reference to the mother and child depicted in the statue, and also to the new road being built at the time.

Adrienne said:

“I think I was in fifth class at the time and there was a competition with all the schools in Finglas and I won with the entry

‘Let the Life Flow Through’.

“We all made pieces in school that were meant to be put on it and also there was meant to be a proper unveiling but that obviously didn’t happen.

“A few of us got to go to where the sculpture was made, but I can’t remember where that was. I’d love to meet the sculptor again and maybe have the official unveiling that never happened.

?

Research by local council official, Jackie O’Reilly, has identified the sculptor as Elizabeth McLaughlin. However, attempts to track her down and contact her have so far failed.

Cllr McAuliffe is now appealing to locals and the art community to help find Elizabeth so that she can be reunited with Adrienne and local people to officially unveil the statue 17 years after it was erected.

“I’m hoping people will use Google, Facebook, Twitter and the web to spread the news about the search for Elizabeth McLaughlin so that she can see her work in its new surroundings,

? he said.