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Top sculptor unveils Newtown
'Angels'
11.04.11
by Dónal Campbell, Inishowen Independent
PARISHIONERS in Newtown have paid a fitting tribute
to the memory of unbaptised children buried in the
local graveyard and in doing so gained a stunning
piece of sculpture by a Derry-born artist who has
created many of Ireland’s best known late-20th
century public sculptures.
Artist Eamonn O’Doherty, who was reared in the West
End Park area of Derry, was in Newtown last Friday
to install the piece – a bronze statue of an angel
cradling an infant. Present also was Fr Seamus
Gallagher, PP, and his predecessor, Fr. Kevin
O’Doherty who retired back to the village last year.
Also present were a number of local men who had
worked in preparing the plot and surrounding area.
Commenting on the sculpture, Eamonn O’Doherty
outlined why the commission to honour unbaptised
infants appealed to him: “I’m glad the Church has
come around on this issue – it was of its time but
it was a cruel thing. I’m not very religious but I
was glad to contribute from a humanitarian aspect.
The piece depicts an angel cradling a baby – it is
meant to be a comforting presence for any woman who
lost a child.” |
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Artist Eamonn O'Doherty unveils his
'God's Little Angels' sculpture to commemorate
unbaptised children buried in the local graveyard in
Newtown. |
Although relatively
anonymous, O’Doherty has a huge international
reputation and his work is among the best known of
any living Irish artist. Among his landmark works
are the James Connolly Memorial and the “Tree of
Gold” in central Dublin, the Quincentennial
Sculpture (known as The Galway Hookers) in Eyre
Square, Galway, and The Great Hunger Memorial in
Westchester, New York, the latter completed in 2001
and described by the New York Times as “this great
work”.
Eamonn O’Doherty’s commission for Newtown’s “God’s
Little Angels” plot came about through his earlier
work in the adjoining Church of All Saints – he was
responsible for a number of pieces in the church
including the centre-piece cross behind the altar.
Fr Gallagher was heartfelt in his praise,
complementing Eamonn O’Doherty on the finished piece
and confirming that the ground will be consecrated
in an upcoming ceremony: “This is a fitting tribute
to the memory of the unbaptised children who were
buried here over the years. It is also a tribute to
their mothers and families. I’m very grateful to the
local men who gave their time so generously to this
project. It’s evident from their involvement and the
interest the public have taken that this has struck
a deep chord with the whole community. The people of
the area have taken ownership of the idea and this
is finally a fitting memorial.”
Fr Kevin O’Doherty, the retired PP of the parish of
All-Saints, recalled a poignant chat he had recently
with a 90 year-old resident of Newtown which
perfectly summed up the welcome accorded locally to
the God’s Little Angels plot: “It’s great about the
garden for the angels,” she said, “it was always
terrible when those wee babies were forgotten about
along the graveyard wall.” |
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