Council wanted to 'go quiet' over controversial ‘Púca of Ennistymon’ artwork
The Púca of Ennistymon in Clay by Aidan Harte.
A local authority wanted to “go quiet” about a controversial Púca sculpture to “let the rhetoric blow over” before making any decision on what to do with the €30,000 artwork.
The mythical bronze sculpture caused an international stir last month when some residents of Ennistymon in Co Clare objected to it with one email to the council calling it “fearful, grotesque, [and] obnoxious”.
The council was inundated with correspondence about the project with messages from people saying they would welcome the sculpture in their own area or saying they would go out of their way to visit it.
Others said the entire episode reminded them of the ‘down with this sort of thing’ episode from TV comedy series .
However, opposition to the two-metre-tall statue from local residents remained strong and a petition that garnered 263 signatures from the community was delivered to the council.
Internal emails detail how the local authority wanted to let the dust settle on the controversy before taking any further action.
A council official wrote to An Púca artist Aidan Harte said: “The Chief Executive has proposed to go quiet for a couple of weeks, let the rhetoric blow over, and that a process of engagement with the community would then take place with community groups in the town.”
The council also told the artist they had received multiple emails about the sculpture that morning, all of which were positive.
In emails, Aidan Harte said he had declined an interview with Claire Byrne on RTÉ because it looked like “it was going to be confrontational”.
He wrote: “I’m keen to keep it light-hearted as much as possible.” In another email, he wrote: “I don’t think we’ll ever convince the die hard but [an interview] is an opportunity to sway the undecided.”
The internal records detail how Mr Harte was first told via email that objections to the sculpture had been raised in late April. In response, he said he had asked the foundry to pause their work and hoped it was just a “hiccup”.
He wrote: “It’s hard to get consensus about anything and practically impossible with art! For what it’s worth I’ve noticed that kids love it straightaway for its sheer outlandishness and that any sceptical adults warm to him once they hear the story of Puca carrying folks away to fairyland on his back and granting wishes when he’s in a good mood.”
Internal emails also reveal how the council became aware that “rumours” were circulating about the “horse” sculpture in April.
One email said: “I gave a picture of the mock up to [a local councillor] … to put people’s minds at rest, have heard nothing back yet.”
The county council also received dozens of emails about the artwork with one local resident saying the sculpture would become a “focal point” from their home.
“This last lockdown has been a struggle,” they said, “I do not need to be depressed any more than I am.”
Another said the statue was magnificent and captured the “sometimes brutal and scary folklore” of Ireland. “It is our history; it should be celebrated.”
One email said the statue would put Ennistymon on the map. They wrote: “I think it would be a big tourist attraction, with many being really interested in our traditions who I’m sure would only love to get a photo … which would become a trend and go viral.”
Another said not all public art should be “vanilla and pretty” and said that An Púca was a “startling and thought-provoking piece”.
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