A leading academic has expressed concern over the depiction of “man boobs” on a commemorative statue in Athenry and has questioned the commisioning process behind the monument’s erection.
The cleavage-laden carving of Cú Chulainn currently stands in Athenry Community Park and plans are underway to place it on a new plinth later this year – something that locals are sure to kept abreast of.
The amply-proportioned artwork depicting the legendary Irish hero’s mythical mammaries was originally commissioned by Galway County Council in 2016 and was intended to symbolise the “undaunted courage and dignity of the men and women of the 1916 Rising.”
However, art expert Dr Áine Phillips – who has been the head of sculpture at the Burren College of Art for the past three decades – has questioned how the statue could have been commisioned, citing the rather buxom depiction of the mythical hero’s buoyant bosoms.
“The most distinctive aspect of this sculpture of Cú Chulainn is his stylised smile and what appears to be ‘man boobs’, prompting curiosity about the artist’s original creative intent. You’d expect the dying hero to have a more chiselled physique and serious demeanour,” she told the Advertiser.
“I would describe this sculpture made by Sheen Stone Works as a simplified interpretation of the magnificent Cú Chulainn bronze in the GPO by Oliver Shepard, made in 1911. Sheen Stone has used the form of the original, and his embattled posture but rendered in a primitive, naive style.”
Local authorities typically commission public artworks through a designated Arts Office and issue competitive open calls to artists before a selection panel makes a decision on the matter.
“The policies ensure that public art is of a high standard, as the general public are going to have to live with the works into the future. The art works selected should reflect public trust as well as artistic quality while respecting local heritage,” Dr Phillips explained.
“As such, commissioning groups are advised to set up a selection panel with experts in art alongside civic engineers and local residents. In the case of this piece I question whether this process took place.”
It is understood that although Galway County Council commisioned the statue, the local authority’s Arts Office had no role in the decision.
Galway County Council was approached for comment over the details in this article however no response was received at the time of publication.
Reacting to the titillating turmoil – that is referred to by some local humorists as the “Táin Boob Cúailnge,” local Fine Gael councillor Peter Feeney said there had been a variety of perspectives on the statue when it was first unveiled.
“When it was unveiled there were differing views, I’ll put it like that,” Cllr Feeney told the Advertiser. “There’s no point in saying there weren’t, there were.
“If it’s going to be moved on to a new plinth, that’s fine. That was the original plan to move it towards the front of the park.
“I’m not saying that I particularly like the piece…You have to be careful about saying what’s good or what’s bad about art. You’ll find pieces of art that couldn’t be sold in an artist’s lifetime, are now been sold for a hundred million. My opinion of a piece of art doesn’t carry any more weight than anybody else’s.
“Maybe if it was something of a more kind of athletic style… people would walk past it. I don’t know. We’re still talking about it ten years later.”
When asked about his comments over the statue’s lack of “athletic style”, Cllr Feeney replied, “You’ll get no more out of me.”
Local residents have also been following the various contours to the debate around the statue. Athenry-native Conor Pokall described his recollections of the statue’s unveiling while speaking to the Advertiser.
“It was quite a large event that drew a crowd of hundreds, if not thousands to the park”, Mr Pokall said.
“Just before the unveiling, the speaker explained how it was decided that none of the martyrs of the Rising or even the Tan War would have their likeness memorialised on the day. Instead, a character who captures the ‘Irish warrior spirit’ was chosen; Cú Chulainn.
“Initially, this announcement thrilled me. I was picturing the Hound of Ulster, wielding his legendary spear, Gáe Bolga, in a state of warp-spasm and slaughtering the invading armies of Queen Medhbh at Cooley.
“The veil was dropped and the crowd went quiet, apart from the overenthusiastic applause at the front. We, near the back, looked at the screen, then looked each other with an eyebrow raised, feeling puzzled.
“We thought we’d get the legendary warrior in his prime. We got the boy Sétanta, with his hurl and sliotar, wearing a rather busty breastplate, which just looks more like breasts to be honest.
“My friend, dressed in an old Fenian uniform for the day that was in it, just looked at me and said, ‘There go our taxes now!’. Sums it up really.”
