Page 3 - COBH EDITION 15th OCTOBER DIGITAL VERSION

COBH CARILLON RECITALS
30 September: the season concludes with a special recital by resident carillonneur Adrian
Gebruers to mark the 150th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of St Colman’s
Cathedral.
These recitals are presented by the Cobh Carillon Committee and grant aided by the Arts
Council and the Cork County Council.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belvelly Castle Sculpture by Orla de Brí

Garry and Anne Wilson of Belvelly Castle asked me to create a sculpture for the roof of the
castle. We met at Belvelly over a year ago and they told me all about this amazing project and
the history of the castle.
I spent a long time thinking about the different lives the castle has had. I’m sure it has expe-
rienced many happy times but it has also had a history of battles, takeovers and torture and
so I wanted to make a positive and reflective piece. I kept thinking about the tree that was
growing inside the castle when they bought it, nature had reclaimed it for a while but now the
owners were creating a new history.

The sculpture is called ‘Quiet Listening’
When you walk into a castle more than any other building you think of your ancestors, and you
quietly listen to stories of a different time. I wanted to make a sculpture that would reflect that
feeling and so I made a human figure contemplating a gold tree.

The tree is a great symbol of the past and present with roots planted firmly in the past and
branches reaching for new beginnings.
The tree captivates the figure; there is a visual connection between the two, human with na-
ture, present with past.

The 3-meter figure and the 5-meter tree are both bronze, the tree is 24ct gold leafed and the
figure is patinated a deep green colour. These are the colours traditionally used by architects
throughout history for roof domes of cathedrals and castles.

The sculpture took a year to make, it has been filmed by Cal de Brí from the first drawing
through all of the processes to the final installation. He will take the last shots when the scaf-
folding is down, this will give a good idea of how I made the sculpture. I will send you a link
when it’s finished.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------