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.”
