Púca sculpture finally finds a permanent home in the Burren

Large crowd gathers at Poll a Phúca for unveiling of 2m-high bronze statue near the Michael Cusack centre at Carron in the Burren

The Burren community in north Clare gathered at the Michael Cusack Centre, the birthplace of the founder of the GAA, this afternoon for the official unveiling of the Púca. Picture: Arthur Ellis

Aidan Harte’s €30,000 Púca sculpture has finally been unveiled to the public in “a magical place”, a short distance from the birthplace of GAA founder Michael Cusack in the Burren, after more than one year of controversy.

A large crowd gathered at Poll a Phúca for the unveiling of the 2m-high bronze statue near the Michael Cusack centre at Carron in the Burren.

Within moments of the unveiling of the Clare County Council commissioned artwork, parents and their children were patiently queuing to have their photo taken with the notorious figure from Irish folklore.

In a reference to the controversy surrounding the statue, the deputy mayor of Clare, Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Killeen, told the crowd: “We know the statue hasn’t won universal praise for a variety of reasons.

“However, we believe it will enthral, entertain, and evoke an emotional response from all those who come here to engage with it and that is the idea of art."

He said whether the Púca “frightens you or entertains you, you will have to make up your mind”.

Before unveiling the Púca, Mr Killeen said: “I think the more controversy about the Púca, the better and it really is a valuable addition to the Michael Cusack centre and it will be a big draw here.” 

Aidan Harte with a miniature version of his Púca statue at his home in Dublin. Picture: Niall Carson

The Michael Cusack Centre beat competition from the north Clare village of Ballyvaughan to host the Púca. Chair of the board of Michael Cusack Centre Dónal Ó hAiniféin told the crowd that the centre went “hell for leather” to get it.

He said that “while the Púca was a controversial enough figure, Michael Cusack himself was controversial”.

Addressing the crowd, Púca creator, Aidan Harte said the Púca has found a home “in a quiet and magical place” near the cottage of Michael Cusack.

Mr Harte said that he wanted to thank the people of Carron for welcoming it.

Online poll

Earlier this year, Clare County Council sought expressions of interest for the Púca after the north Clare town of Ennistymon rejected the scuplture following an online poll carried out on behalf of the council, which showed a majority were not in favour of it being installed in the town.

Following the weekend's unveiling, Mr Harte said: “Today has been a long time coming. The Púca will have a happy home here in Carron.”

In reference to the online survey where the Púca was variously described as scary, beautiful, ugly, creative, hideous, quirky, vulgar, wonderful, grotesque, imaginative, evil, and humorous, Mr Harte said: “They tried to cancel the Púca and they have failed. Now having it in Carron is an opportunity for people in Clare to go see what people didn’t want them to see and for them to make up their own minds.” 

In May of last year, Clare County Council paused further work on the Púca pending more engagement with the public in Ennistymon.

The council move followed a local outcry, including parish priest Fr Willie Cummins denouncing the Púca from the altar at Sunday Mass.

The Púca is Mr Harte's first public art commission and he said that “there were times when it wasn't fun”.

Mr Harte said the controversy around the Púca "could have been avoided by simply coming out and robustly explaining the decision-making process and arguing the case for the merits of the artwork and saying ‘give this a shot and don’t judge it prematurely and don’t sentence it to death in absentia'.”