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25ft oak 'Fid' unveiled in Moville
04.09.09
INISHOWEN was out in
force on Wednesday for the unveiling of Moville's
new monument - the €50,000 solid oak 'Fid' at the
town's old stone pier.
Locals, schoolchildren from Scoil Eoghain, public
representatives and a delegation from New Brunswick,
Canada, gathered at the seafront to help Derry
artist Locky Morris unveil his latest creation with
the help of Donegal Mayor Cllr Brendan Byrne and
Declan Sheehan of the Donegal Public Art Office.
Designed as a monument to Moville’s maritime history
and the legacy of emigration from the town, Derry
and wider Donegal, the 25ft high Fid, is carved from
a single trunk of a large oak tree. The upright oak
structure is designed to reflect the ancient name of
Moville itself, Maigh Bhile, or “the plain of the
sacred tree”. |
"It touches directly on
the history of sea food harvesting in this coastal
region and broadens out further to make connections
to the shipping and maritime history of this area of
the Lough, with its suggestion of marine
architecture such as masts, buoys or channel
markers," said the artist. He got the inspiration,
in part, from an actual fid, a conical pin of
hardwood used to open the strands of rope in slicing
and an important tool in sail making. During his
research for the project, he came across an example
of a fid, in the long-line fishing basket display in
the Inishowen Maritime Museum in nearby Greencastle.
Cllr Byrne welcomed Dr Edward Doherty, New
Brunswick's Minister for Supply and Services whose
ancestral roots can be traced back to Derry. He said
New Brunswick had pulled "a master stroke" by
sending over a delegation headed up by 'a Doherty'. |
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Following the Fid unveiling, an exhibition of images
called 'Per Cent for Art' by the Scoil Eoghain
pupils went on display at the Caiseal Mara Hotel
while a new book 'Across the Atlantic: Emigrating
from Moville and Derry' was launched in the same
hotel.
The events were the culmination of two years' work
following a trip in 2007, when representatives from
Derry City Council, Inishowen Rural Development, the
University of Ulster, the Ulster American Folk Park
and local community groups visited New Brunswick.
Meanwhile, Locky Morris who was accompanied on the
day by daughter, Edan, thanked the men who brought
his design to life, namely engineer Mark Hill with
the help of Paddy Morgan and tree surgeon Jess
McSparron. He also thanked local historians
including Sean Beattie and Martin Lynch.
To see more photos of the launch
click here . |
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