Public Art Commission: Irishtown
Briathra Talún / Words from the Land a public art project by artist Noah Rose, culminating in a sculptural installation at Páirc an Tobair in Irishtown village, south Mayo. From the outset, Mayo County Council collaborated closely with the Irishtown community, whose invaluable input helped shape this project. This commission presented a unique opportunity for an artist to engage with a close-knit community that takes great pride in its village and its historical significance. Following an open competition, Noah Rose was selected to take on the commission and embraced and deepened the relationship with the Irishtown community.
"I’m delighted to have been selected for the Irishtown public art commission. I am fascinated by the relationship between historical events and the marks they leave on the land - so I'm excited to be working in this fascinating location with its unique historical significance as the Cradle of the Land League. I’m looking forward to meeting and working with the community over the coming months, researching historical material and developing new sculptural work that is unique to Irishtown."
Noah Rose is an accomplished artist with extensive experience of developing and making public artworks. Through thorough research and consultation, the artist eventually focused on the historical significance of the 1879 Irishtown Tenant Right Meeting. An interest in archival research, the Irish language, and history all inform his contemporary arts practice and made his approach particularly relevant to this context. These interests are reflected in both this publication and the final artwork.
Launch Event
Briathra Talún / Words from the Land will be launch on Monday, 21st April 2025 at 2pm at Páirc on Tobair, Irishtown Co. Mayo, F12 YY51.
Official launch by Cllr. Damien Ryan, Cathaoirleach Swinford Claremorris MD.
Guest speaker: Dr. Andrew G. Newby, Senior Lecturer in Transnational and Comparative History, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Specialist interest in the land question in Victorian Ireland and Scotland. His books include Ireland, Radicalism and the Scottish Highlands (EUP, 2007); Michael Davitt: New Perspectives (edited with Fintan Lane, IAP, 2009); Éire na Rúise: An Fhionlainn agus Éire ar thóir na Saoirse (Coiscéim, 2016); and An Fraoch Trí Thine! Micheál Mac Daibhéid, Conradh na talún agus Garbhchíocha na hAlban 1870-1887 (forthcoming, Coiscéim, 2025).
Guided walk and talk with artist Noah Rose.
All welcome. Refreshments provided.
About the artist
Noah Rose is an artist based in Headford, County Galway and working internationally. He specialises in creating sculptural work for public space, always developed in response to context, through original research, and often incorporating community engaged practice. His work is fundamentally interested in investigating the nature of what defines a place, its specific qualities, within its geographical, cultural and socio-historical context. Working through a variety of media including sculpture, drawing, installation, photography and archival research, his practice is rooted in a passionate desire to understand connections between the past and present. He has undertaken a significant number of public art commissions across Ireland, the UK and internationally. Notable commissions and residencies undertaken in Mayo include: ‘Changing Tracks’ (2014), a pan-European public art programme that led to a sculptural installation along the Great Western Greenway and the Tír Sáile Research Residency (2017) in collaboration with artist Selma Makela.
This commission is part of Mayo County Council’s Public Art Programme, funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the Per Cent for Art Scheme. This funding enables the council to commission high quality and ambitious contemporary art for the public in everyday settings throughout county Mayo.
For more information about the Public Art Programme visit: https://www.mayo.ie/arts/public-art.
For more information about this project contact Aoife O’Toole, Acting Public Art Coordinator, Mayo Arts Service, Mayo County Council: aotoole@mayococo.ie; 094 9064376.