Diarmuid Gavin and Aideen Doherty from Donegal County CouncilCARNDONAGH WANTS A GARDEN
Meeting for the second time in the Community school hall in Carndonagh, Diarmuid Gavin addressed his fourth audience of the day about the proposed park at Barrack Hill. Previous to this open audience, Diarmuid had spoken to; 60 children in 6 schools, teens from the Community school, the playgroup committee and senior residents in the town. He also took time for a walk around the site. A hefty schedule indeed!
Diarmuid has been busy with ideas on the project since his last visit and like most artistic people he has spent his time not having a clue what he is going to do with the site.
“I had no idea where the project was going to go and no designs for the area.” Diarmuid admits. “I realise that this is an amazing space and felt like a student with a project. I realise that the park is not something about me; it is about everyone in the town. If the area doesn’t work for everyone, it won’t work at all, it has to fit into the landscape and the requirements of all the residents of the town.”
UNCOVERING THE SECRET
“Then three weeks ago something began to emerge.” Diarmuid told us. In the last visit, children had suggested all sorts of ideas from a crazy golf course to a mini zoo, but something clicked with Diarmuid. “ One thing the children especially liked was the idea of a maze, they love the idea of secrecy and a place to gather. So I got aerial photographs of the land where the park is to go and started to draw lines on the paper. It was a bit like dropping a pebble in a pool of water and looking at the ripples.”
He explains further, “This made me think of winding pathways up the hillside and imagined dropping a second stone into the water and the lines interlinking in concentric circles. I then imagined pathways edged with natural stone walls. The smooth curves of the paths would allow for the gentle movement of people in the park.”
FOUR MAIN INFLUENCES
“I have divided the initial ideas into four sections,” explains Diarmuid, enthusiastically. “ I went for inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy from Scotland. He turns stone walls into sculptures which is the type of movement I would look for in the walls of the park when they flow up the hill. Andy also uses natural found materials in his projects.”
Easter Island is another area of inspiration, with its 887 giant carved structures made from volcanic rock. “These images are very powerful, and have given me the idea for a focal point” he explains. “Mount Rushmore in America where the four presidents are carved into the rocks gave me the third idea of including caricatures in the design. The fourth influence is Anthony Gormley. Anthony created the famous Angel of the North in Gateshead. “He can draw in the sky using steel. All of these ideas gave me my big idea” Diarmuid says as he shows us the images on the screen.
THE BIG IDEA
Diarmuid has a rough idea how the infrastructure of the park will look and has had some plans drawn up by his team. “We are all part of a collective” Diarmuid tells us modestly “The park is being formed by a big team, including architects, designers, artists, councils and of course the public. I even sent a photographer out into Carndonagh a couple of weeks ago and he came back with fabulous images of the town. This gave me an idea for the focal points on top of the hill at the end of the walk.” Diarmuid feels that because of the geographical nature of Donegal, people tend to appear to look out on the landscape. This is something he wants to re-create in the statues. “ I have an idea to use iconic images of local characters such as Mary ‘Curate’, he tells us. I have remarkable images of local faces and drawing influences from Easter Island, Anthony Gormley, Anthony Goldsworthy and Mt Rushmore, I see large open steel heads on top of the hill looking down on the meandering stone walls and distant hillsides.”
ALL INCLUSIVE
There are lots of other ideas that will be incorporated into the structure of the design. Aideen Doherty from Donegal County Council wants the town to have the best and feels that Diarmuid is bringing it all together- a natural park that blends in with the countryside and facilities for all age groups from children, mothers with babies to senior citizens.
“We are looking into the practicalities of an allotment for people of the town” Diarmuid continues. “All too often in rural areas there is a lot of isolation for men in a community and an allotment would be a great place to meet, work and socialise. “The size of the area is debateable as yet, depending on the amount of interest it generates,”
There is still a lot of work to be done even to put in the bare bones of the project without concentrating on the finer details like toilets and security. Access roads have to be built to allow access to the car parks and long-term contracts with developers and maintenance contractors have to be found. Diarmuid, the playground group and the Council all realise that there is still a long way to go, but with the enthusiasm of the residents the project has reached a new phase and is well on it’s way to becoming a reality.
Diarmuid will be back on Tuesday the 27th of May to tell us of his progress
Meeting for the second time in the Community school hall in Carndonagh, Diarmuid Gavin addressed his fourth audience of the day about the proposed park at Barrack Hill. Previous to this open audience, Diarmuid had spoken to; 60 children in 6 schools, teens from the Community school, the playgroup committee and senior residents in the town. He also took time for a walk around the site. A hefty schedule indeed!
Diarmuid has been busy with ideas on the project since his last visit and like most artistic people he has spent his time not having a clue what he is going to do with the site.
“I had no idea where the project was going to go and no designs for the area.” Diarmuid admits. “I realise that this is an amazing space and felt like a student with a project. I realise that the park is not something about me; it is about everyone in the town. If the area doesn’t work for everyone, it won’t work at all, it has to fit into the landscape and the requirements of all the residents of the town.”
UNCOVERING THE SECRET
“Then three weeks ago something began to emerge.” Diarmuid told us. In the last visit, children had suggested all sorts of ideas from a crazy golf course to a mini zoo, but something clicked with Diarmuid. “ One thing the children especially liked was the idea of a maze, they love the idea of secrecy and a place to gather. So I got aerial photographs of the land where the park is to go and started to draw lines on the paper. It was a bit like dropping a pebble in a pool of water and looking at the ripples.”
He explains further, “This made me think of winding pathways up the hillside and imagined dropping a second stone into the water and the lines interlinking in concentric circles. I then imagined pathways edged with natural stone walls. The smooth curves of the paths would allow for the gentle movement of people in the park.”
FOUR MAIN INFLUENCES
“I have divided the initial ideas into four sections,” explains Diarmuid, enthusiastically. “ I went for inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy from Scotland. He turns stone walls into sculptures which is the type of movement I would look for in the walls of the park when they flow up the hill. Andy also uses natural found materials in his projects.”
Easter Island is another area of inspiration, with its 887 giant carved structures made from volcanic rock. “These images are very powerful, and have given me the idea for a focal point” he explains. “Mount Rushmore in America where the four presidents are carved into the rocks gave me the third idea of including caricatures in the design. The fourth influence is Anthony Gormley. Anthony created the famous Angel of the North in Gateshead. “He can draw in the sky using steel. All of these ideas gave me my big idea” Diarmuid says as he shows us the images on the screen.
THE BIG IDEA
Diarmuid has a rough idea how the infrastructure of the park will look and has had some plans drawn up by his team. “We are all part of a collective” Diarmuid tells us modestly “The park is being formed by a big team, including architects, designers, artists, councils and of course the public. I even sent a photographer out into Carndonagh a couple of weeks ago and he came back with fabulous images of the town. This gave me an idea for the focal points on top of the hill at the end of the walk.” Diarmuid feels that because of the geographical nature of Donegal, people tend to appear to look out on the landscape. This is something he wants to re-create in the statues. “ I have an idea to use iconic images of local characters such as Mary ‘Curate’, he tells us. I have remarkable images of local faces and drawing influences from Easter Island, Anthony Gormley, Anthony Goldsworthy and Mt Rushmore, I see large open steel heads on top of the hill looking down on the meandering stone walls and distant hillsides.”
ALL INCLUSIVE
There are lots of other ideas that will be incorporated into the structure of the design. Aideen Doherty from Donegal County Council wants the town to have the best and feels that Diarmuid is bringing it all together- a natural park that blends in with the countryside and facilities for all age groups from children, mothers with babies to senior citizens.
“We are looking into the practicalities of an allotment for people of the town” Diarmuid continues. “All too often in rural areas there is a lot of isolation for men in a community and an allotment would be a great place to meet, work and socialise. “The size of the area is debateable as yet, depending on the amount of interest it generates,”
There is still a lot of work to be done even to put in the bare bones of the project without concentrating on the finer details like toilets and security. Access roads have to be built to allow access to the car parks and long-term contracts with developers and maintenance contractors have to be found. Diarmuid, the playground group and the Council all realise that there is still a long way to go, but with the enthusiasm of the residents the project has reached a new phase and is well on it’s way to becoming a reality.
Diarmuid will be back on Tuesday the 27th of May to tell us of his progress
