Munster in 30 Artworks, No 15: Fiona O’Dwyer’s Dreamboat in Ennis, Co Clare

The sculptor is anxious to preserve some of the mystery around a piece that features a map of the stars on a date of significance to the artist

 Fiona O’Dwyer, the artist who created Dreamboat in Ennis. Picture: Paddy Dooley  

Even now, 25 years after its unveiling, Fiona O’Dwyer insists the full meaning of her Dreamboat sculpture in Ennis, Co Clare should remain a secret. The artwork, a limestone sculpture of a boat with a cross on board, features carvings of a heart, a dress and a map of the stars on a certain date of significance to the artist, which she refuses to reveal.

Nor will she identify the person close to her who inspired the piece. “My husband often quotes the line, ‘Art revealed is art shamed,’” she says. “I feel it’s important that I don’t give everything away, and people are free to interpret the work as they choose.”