The man carrying the stone won’t be going too far
The Meath Council of Trade Unions and SIPTU have expressed disappointment that they have not been consulted by Meath County Council about the relocation of the 'On the Great Wide Open' sculpture on the Kells Road roundabout in Navan.
The sculpture, which is due to go into storage within the next two weeks, pays tribute to all of the people who dedicated their lives to the mining industry in Navan.
Work on dismantling the roundabout, which is to be replaced by a signalised junction, is due to begin on 17th February. Preparatory work at the roundabout has already underway.
Meath Trades Council chairperson, John Regan said they are seeking full engagement of the county council, the council's commemoration committee with the trades council and the miners.
"Its relocation is a matter of concern for us and we are disappointed there was no engagement with us. It has come to a shock to us that we are only learning of these plans now."
The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Eddie Fennessy has proposed a motion for the March meeting of the county council calling on the Executive to convene a local group to discuss a new placement for the sculpture.
“The discussion around finding a new placement for 'On the Great Wide Open' has really taken off. Over recent weeks I spoke with members of the public, individual workers from Tara Mines and the Trade Unions. The common consensus is that it’s a beautiful piece of stone and that it shouldn’t be locked away for any length of time."
The proposed Local Distributor Road 4 (LDR4), which will link the N51/R147 Kells Road to the Ratholdren Road in Navan, underwent a full public consultation as part of the statutory planning consent process in July and August 2020.
A spokesperson for Meath County Council said no submissions were received during public consultation, specifically relating to the proposed relocation of the “On The Great Wide Open” sculpture.
"The artwork that is currently present there will be removed and placed into storage to facilitate construction. When the junction construction works are completed, it is proposed to re-erect the artwork in close proximity to the junction."
The 'On the Great Wide Open' by Patrick Barry is a 3.2m stone sculpture of a man carrying a large stone on his shoulder.
Unveiled on 18th May 2012, by then Mayor, Cllr Anton McCabe, the sculpture represents the quarrying of stone and its movement from one historic location to another. Three tonnes of limestone came from Kilkenny for the sculpture, whilst zinc extracted locally from Tara Mines was used for the boulder being carried by the man.