Gaultier GAA Club in Dunmore East, Co. Waterford are a GAA club that is deeply embedded in the community. During the past 9 months, they have lost a number of members of both the club and their wider community.
For their #IHFSeeds project, in partnership with Creative Ireland, they commissioned local artist Declan Pierce to paint a large mural on their grounds dedicated to those supporting them to get through the COVID-19 pandemic but also to those who have died and lost loved ones. This wall is adjacent to the main Dunmore East – Waterford City road and during the summer upwards of 10,000 cars per day pass the gates of their pitch.
The project has been led by club chairman, Richard Finnegan, he explains who will benefit from the project.
“The short answer is everyone. Those directly involved in the club, the community but also those who pass the gates of the pitch. The mural is to thank those who got us through but also to show solidarity with those who lost loved ones be they relations, friends or neighbours etc during the pandemic.”
Dominic Campbell is Arts & Cultural Engagement Lead at Irish Hospice Foundation
“Artist Declan Pierce is a Gaultier GAA club member, and reminder that artists are active parts of all our communities. Developed though conversations with the club the mural celebrates role the GAA plays in handing the ball on across generations. Incorporating the End of Life symbol, based on Newgrange’s Celtic spirals, with a nod to Adam and God in the Sistine Chapel, it’s a perfect memorial deeply connected to the place of its making, and an inspiration to all the artists of the GAA.
