The Irish Horse in Sculpture

Red_Marauder

Strolling around the city and comparing our public art to our European colleagues, one cannot help but notice what apparently is a complete absence of equestrian art in the city.
As a nation we have long associations with the horse, from our early pre-Norman sovereignty to our reliance upon the horse as an agricultural economy and today as one of the most significant equestrian nations worldwide.

Presumably many of the sculptural instillations depicting military conquests were destroyed during the period of occupation and shortly after, but do any public figues at all remain? For all of the money we spend on some very questionable public sculptures, shouldn't we at least turn our eye once to our long and flourishing relationship between the Irish people and the Horse?

bridget.laitly

Red_Marauder wrote: »

Strolling around the city and comparing our public art to our European colleagues, one cannot help but notice what apparently is a complete absence of equestrian art in the city.
As a nation we have long associations with the horse, from our early pre-Norman sovereignty to our reliance upon the horse as an agricultural economy and today as one of the most significant equestrian nations worldwide.

Presumably many of the sculptural instillations depicting military conquests were destroyed during the period of occupation and shortly after, but do any public figues at all remain? For all of the money we spend on some very questionable public sculptures, shouldn't we at least turn our eye once to our long and flourishing relationship between the Irish people and the Horse?

I've gotten into statue hunting recently so I'll weigh in...

From Wikipedia:
Dublin was once famed for its high quality equestrian statues, including the Lord Gough monument in the Phoenix Park, the William of Orange statue in College Green and the King George II statue in St Stephen's Green. No statues of people on horseback remain today, as the IRA has since blown them all up. There is, however, a modern equestrian statue outside the "Break for the Border" nightclub on Stephen Street. The statue consists of an American Indian mounted on horseback.

There's a few other non-military horse sculptures around, the Chariot of Life sea horses on Abbey st and the Barge Horse on Royal Canal Way come to mind.

My guess is that since this a nation of art and expression, not military conquests, there isn't much call for statuary representative of such. Both of these are great representations of Ireland's relationship with the horse as a mythic champion and daily working companion.

Collie D

bridget.laitly wrote: »

My guess is that since this a nation of art and expression, not military conquests, there isn't much call for statuary representative of such.

Nail on the head I think. Isn't there some kind of code too for statues on horses? Horse with both front legs in the air means the subject died in battle, one leg means died from their wounds and standing on all fours means survived. Something like that anyway

bridget.laitly

Collie D wrote: »

Nail on the head I think. Isn't there some kind of code too for statues on horses? Horse with both front legs in the air means the subject died in battle, one leg means died from their wounds and standing on all fours means survived. Something like that anyway

I looked into the Interweb crystal ball and The Straight Dope, Snopes and Yahoo all said... neigh.

F.R.

The Wellington Monument in the Phoenix Park has horses on it. Can't think of any others around the city though.

Red_Marauder

Collie D wrote: »

Nail on the head I think. Isn't there some kind of code too for statues on horses? Horse with both front legs in the air means the subject died in battle, one leg means died from their wounds and standing on all fours means survived. Something like that anyway

Yes this is true, I'm not sure of the exact meanings but I think all four legs on the ground suggest that the subject was a person or a sovereign who ruled in peacetime, one leg off the ground means he fought in battle but died in peacetime, and a subject riding a rearing horse was supposed to have died in battle. I'm pretty sure that's how it goes anyway, but it's just from memory and I can't remember where I came across it.

My guess is that since this a nation of art and expression, not military conquests, there isn't much call for statuary representative of such. Both of these are great representations of Ireland's relationship with the horse as a mythic champion and daily working companion.

yes though I'm not really talking about commemorating military performances. The red indian on the horse on South William Street and the 'Chariot of Life' statue outside the Irish Life building, while it has two horses as part of it, has really got nothing to do with Ireland and its relationship with the horse in itself.

bridget.laitly

Red_Marauder wrote: »

yes though I'm not really talking about commemorating military performances. The red indian on the horse on South William Street and the 'Chariot of Life' statue outside the Irish Life building, while it has two horses as part of it, has really got nothing to do with Ireland and its relationship with the horse in itself.

Don't know about that legs on the ground thing, I'm thinking it's urban legend.

Your first post said there was a "complete absence of equestrian art in the city", I disagree. You asked if many of the statues depicting military conquests were destroyed (yes) and if there were any public figures remaining (not really).
There's lots of horse imagery in Dublin city sculpture, but not a lot of dedicated horse-shaped statues. However, the horse trough monument on Dawson st, The Horse's Head in the Wind on Barrow st and the Barge Horse are fair representations of the horse's impact and contribution to Ireland's development and do address the Irish relationship to them.

If you're asking why there aren't more examples, I'd say these guys could help.

Sandraf

Two life models went up my road yesterday - alone ! I think their owners have been "moved on" but their horses came home anyway. Not impressed.

WindSock

Here's a cool one in Roscommon/Sligo

Red_Marauder

Nice sculpture...what's the story behind it, is it a public one?

It reminds me of a really nice alternative to the military horse sculpture that was made from scrap pieces of military equipment in South Africa iirc. I can't remember the exact meaning but it was to do with war skeletons. It's the kind of idea that could translate well into a post colonial capital like Dublin as well.

WindSock

Yeah, it's facing onto the N4 near Boyle. Called 'the Chieftain'


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Curlew_Pass

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/arts/sculptor-maurice-who-steps-out-of-the-shadows-1726738.html

Not really Dublin related, but horsey related nonetheless

Stuttgart

I agree with the general sentiments. For a country that has such long and close associations with the horse, there are not enough public sculptures to commemorate this fact. Which agency is responsible for this sort of thing and I will drop them an email?

Gumbo

isint there one in Ballymun Comp?

http://www.breakingground.ie/_uploads/IMG_4970.jpg