The Writer's Wall

There is an ancient tradition in Ireland and Europe in which a precious object is buried in the foundation of a new building. The belief was that this would bring good luck and long life to the building. We invited contemporary writers in Ireland to make us a gift of one page of a handwritten manuscript with a view to extending this tradition. In the event, two hundred and twelve writers generously responded – however, when the manuscripts came in they were so beautiful we could not find it in our hearts to bury them. The artist Killian Schurmann was approached and he came up with the concept of the glass sculpture.

The sculpture takes its inspiration from nature – over two hundred stalactites (representing the past) reach towards the present (a stalagmite). The sculpture takes the form of a metaphor for the transmission of culture.

The manuscripts have been scanned and can be viewed on the touchscreen computer located beneath the sculpture.