Crystal bowl puts master engraver Sean on top of world

Four years ago he was on the dole but yesterday his work was seen around the world, presented by the Taoiseach to President Obama as part of the St Patrick’s festivities.

Master crystal engraver Sean Egan lost his job when the former Waterford Crystal factory closed in 2009 but, having since set up a studio to continue his work, he had the honour of fashioning the glass bowl filled with shamrock which was handed over by Enda Kenny in the White House.

Entitled “The Gathering Bowl”, the piece was a labour of love for the Waterford man who has been a master engraver for almost four decades and established Sean Egan Art Glass, with the support of the enterprise board in Waterford, after he was made redundant from Waterford Crystal.

His work has previously been as diverse as paying tribute to the late Monty Python star Graham Chapman and also to the victims of 9/11, received by US ambassador Dan Rooney.

Recently Mr Egan was contacted by the Department of the Taoiseach and asked to submit some designs for this year’s shamrock bowl.

His finished piece features a famine ship, a Celtic knot and two harps surrounded by engraved shamrock, all under the theme of The Gathering. “When I got the call from the Taoiseach’s office I was absolutely delighted,” he said. “Four years ago I was signing on the dole. To go from the dole queue to the White House in four years is brilliant.”

His base is in the Kite Design Studio, in the heart of Waterford’s Viking Triangle, which is supported by the Waterford City Enterprise Board.

The bowl of shamrock tradition started in 1953, when president Dwight Eisenhower received the gift from ambassador Hearne and the first taoiseach to make the presentation was John A Costello in 1956. Since Jack Lynch handed over a bowl in 1971, the ceremony has almost always featured the taoiseach and US president.

“I wanted the bowl to represent all that is good about Ireland,” Mr Egan said. “We have a wonderful and warm tapestry of culture, music, art and language. The tall ship is returning to our shore as part of The Gathering festivities while the harps represent our rich musical tradition. The Celtic knot is representative of the timeless nature of our spirit, with no beginning and no end and the engraved shamrocks are a symbol of the Irish diaspora.”

Enterprise board CEO Ciaran Cullen described Mr Egan as “the true embodiment” of the entrepreneurial spirit alive in Ireland and, particularly, Waterford. “His perseverance, talent and resolve have gotten him where he is today. Seeing one’s work presented by An Taoiseach to the pesident of the United States of America is, without doubt, a marvellous accomplishment.”

He is now working on plans for a new project which could see his work displayed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum due to open at Ground Zero in New York in September of 2014.

“I plan to keep creating pieces that are indicative of the times we live in, that symbolise courage, bravery and overcoming adversity.

“There are so many compelling stories to be told and my way of telling them is through the art of glass.”