A Clare controversy: 'They tore the Púca down before we’d even put it up'
Alan Harte with a miniature version of his Púca statue at his home in Dublin. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Few artworks in Ireland have been as divisive as Aidan Harte’s Púca sculpture, commissioned by Clare County Council for the village of Ennistymon in 2021. Harte was working on the clay mould for the 2m tall statue – a human figure with the head of a horse – when an image leaked online, and was promptly condemned as “sinister” by the local parish priest, Fr Willie Cummins.
Harte had been delighted to win the competition for the sculpture, which was widely advertised and attracted 18 proposals. “By all contemporary European standards, the competition was transparent, fair and inclusive,” he says. “They were looking for something out of the ordinary, something that would help make Ennistymon a must-see stop on the Wild Atlantic Way. I think they showed guts picking the Púca over a more generic sculpture that might not have caused a stir or filled the brief.”
He was surprised that his sculpture could provoke so virulent a backlash. “You could say they were way ahead of the curve in Ennistymon,” he says. “Throughout 2021, there were statues coming down for good reasons in Bristol or Carolina or wherever, but this was the most bizarre version of the whole phenomenon. They tore the Púca down before we’d even put it up. Even now, it’s never been out of the foundry.”
The Púca is a trickster figure in Irish folklore, a maker of mischief often given to taking his victims for a wild ride on his back. The best-known example may be the Pooka McPhellimey, a major character in Flan O’Brien’s great novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. O’Brien described the Pooka as “one of the devil class”, which might help explain clerical opposition to Harte’s sculpture.
But Fr Cummins was not the only one to take exception. Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway, who lives in Ennistymon, denounced the piece “ugly,” while Fianna Fáil TD for Clare, Cathal Crowe, called it “hideous”.
“I know some of the objections to the sculpture steered off into the supernatural,” says Crowe. “But I wouldn’t be at all superstitious; I just didn’t like the look of it, to be honest, and that’s just my personal view. Ennistymon is a gateway to the Burren and Lahinch, and I think it would be more appropriate to have a sculpture that reflects on its history as a market town, or that refers to the beautiful falls on the River Cullenagh.
“I spoke out against the sculpture at the time. But then I met with groups of people from the area who loved the proposal, as well as those that were against it, and I’ve taken a more passive position since. I think the important thing when it comes to art is to have more public consultation.”
Clare Co Council soon came to the same conclusion, hiring a consultancy firm, Connect the Dots, to conduct an online survey on what should be done with the sculpture. “I was aghast at this,” says Harte, “knowing it would exacerbate tensions and harden positions. And it did.”
Of the 674 responses to the survey, 370 (55%) expressed dislike for the statue, which was variously described as “scary, dark, evil, unappealing, unpleasant, frightening, grotesque and vulgar.”
The site earmarked for the sculpture is known locally as Mary Blake’s Corner. “The day before polling ended,” says Harte, “this song was posted online by a mystery band called The Burning Pitchforks. It's harmless fun until the last verse, where the lyrics go, ‘And some day or night with gelignite/ And maybe a bazooka / The lot I'd take to Mary Blake/ If ever they approve ya.’ The video ends with the mock-execution of a man in a horse mask.”
In fairness, there were also many who expressed their admiration for the sculpture. But Clare Co Council accepted that the majority of people in Ennistymon did not want it, and invited proposals for alternative locations within the county. Ballyvaughan Community Development Group made a strong case for placing it there, but the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron won out, with the judges appointed by the council declaring that the centre’s operators “had demonstrated how there would be mutual added value to both the installation and the community-run visitor attraction, the location of which was historically named ‘Poll a Phúca.’”
The Púca is now scheduled to be unveiled on June 25. “The new county mayor will be elected the day before, so we’re hoping he’ll do the honours,” says Dónal Ó hAiniféin, cathaoirleach of the board of the Michael Cusack Centre. “Clare will be playing Derry in the All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park the same day, kicking off at quarter to four, so we’ll have the unveiling at midday.”
Ó hAiniféin sees no issue with the centre, which honours the birthplace of the founder of the GAA, becoming involved with such a controversial figure as the Púca. “It’s no coincidence that Cusack chose to found the GAA on November 1st. He was part of the Gaelic Revival, and he dreamed of playing hurling with the Fianna. He knew well that November 1st was Samhain, the start of the Celtic New Year, and a favourable time to start any project.” This year, the centre will launch a Samhain / Púca Storytelling Festival on the same date.
In March, the Bishop of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan, published a conciliatory article headed 'A Pardon for the Púca?' in the Clare Champion. It concluded: “One wonders if we were confronted with the sobering visage of the Púca on the street as we pass, if it might harden us up and arm us for battle against the darkness of the world around us as we go?”
Crowe is pleased that the Púca has found a more suitable home. “I never thought the sculpture should be smelted down or anything,” he says, “and now it’s going to another part of the county I’ll certainly go along to have a look at it.”
Harte is finally organising the transportation of his sculpture to Carron, where he will supervise its installation on a plinth. Much as he looks forward to the unveiling, he wonders if the controversy over the Púca will affect his chances of securing further public commissions.
“I’ve heard they’re looking for a new proposal for an artwork in Ennistymon,” he says. “Maybe I’ll throw my hat in the ring for that.”
