THE winning entries from the Battle of Clontarf art competition, which was organised by the Clontarf Historical Society and Raheny Heritage Society were submitted to the San Jose’s Downtown Doors competition.
Josh Evason (9), from Castleblakeney National School, County Galway, was the lucky winner.
Josh is now the youngest competitor to have his artwork selected in the 12-year history of the San Jose Downtown Doors competition. He took the inspiration for his artwork from the story of Brian Boru.
Downtown Doors is an art competition and outdoor exhibit produced by the San Jose Downtown Foundation.
Blank service and utility doors on major streets are used as
‘canvases’. Each piece that is selected is enlarged and reproduced on the door sites.
The artwork is typically displayed for two years. The large-scale installations, including Josh’s, were unveiled in June.
To mark the millennium anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf, Clontarf Historical Society and Raheny Heritage Society ran a number of school competitions. One of these was an art competition with the theme
‘Clontarf 1014-2014’. It was run in conjunction with primary schools in Clontarf, Raheny, schools in Dublin 3 and 5 and a number of schools outside Dublin.
The competition was sponsored by Nolan’s of Clontarf and Clontarf Residents’ Association.
Collette Gill, chairperson of the Clontarf 2014 Committee, said:
“We were delighted to work with Dublin City Council’s arts officer James Doyle and artist Alan Mongey to select the winners for the competition.
“By coincidence, at the same time, Dublin City Council were invited to submit entries for San Jose’s Downtown Doors competition and invited us to submit the winners from our competition.
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Dublin and San Jose have been sister cities since 1986.
Tim Quigley, chair San Jose – Dublin Sister City Committee, was in Dublin recently and with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Christy Burke, presented Josh with his prize of
?¬300 and a certificate.
Collette Gill, chairperson of the Clontarf 2014 Committee, also accepted a prize on behalf of the historical societies.
Josh and his parents had a wonderful visit to Dublin, a day which began with lunch in Clontarf Castle Hotel with Kay Lonergan, chairperson of Clontarf Historical Society, and Douglas Appleyard, chairperson of the Raheny Heritage Society.
Michael Sands of Dublin City Council then lead them on a guided tour of the Mansion House while Josh got to experience first-hand Viking and Medieval Dublin with a visit to Dublinia.
If you are visiting San Jose, take the time to check out Josh’s artwork – it’s located on First Street, between Paseo de San Antonio and San Carlos Street outside the Camera 12 Cinemas!