Irish Examiner view: Art of catching the tide of public opinion

A striking sculpture of a shantyman is planned for Cobh

The shantyman sculpture is planned to be the main attraction of a new pocket park and rain garden close to the Cobh deepwater quay and the town’s heritage centre.

Public sculpture can sometimes be risky in terms of earning approbation from passers-by who are prepared to acknowledge that they may not know much about art, but definitely know what they like. Or don’t.

There seems little likelihood of dissatisfaction for artistic reasons over the striking statue of a nearly 12ft (3.6m) high shantyman, which is planned to be the main attraction of a new pocket park and rain garden close to the Cobh deepwater quay and the town’s heritage centre. The twice life-size weathered steel structure has been gifted to the people of Cobh by Garry and Anne Wilson, the couple who bought and restored Belvelly Castle, and built by steel fabricator Ray Lonsdale of Durham, England. Mr Lonsdale is renowned for his oversized and often sombre sculptures, many of which are inspired by and installed close to the sea.