While many who admire her sculptures may be unaware of her identity, Eileen MacDonagh has reasonable claim, through her work, to being one of the best-known contemporary artists in Ireland. Her public sculptures, sited at Tullamore, Limerick and Cork, and at other locations in Europe and Japan, are seen by thousands each day. One of her most recent public commissions, in Waterford, takes in an entire street, incorporating paving, seating and a large abstract sculpture. MacDonagh’s preferred medium is stone. She often works on a large scale, carving blocks of granite, limestone or sandstone weighing several tons. Inspired by both abstract concepts of geometry and by the texture, mass and weight of her preferred medium, her sculptures are refined and pragmatic, elegant and down-to-earth. In her art, the high idealism of the Modern movement is tempered by a cheerful populism, combining the everyday with a sense of the infinite, leavened with a quiet sense of humour. A founding member of the Sculptors Society of Ireland, MacDonagh’s career has developed, not through gallery and museum exhibitions but rather through the sculpture symposium movement, where artists work both individually and in collaboration, often in stone quarries, forest parks or workshops. Over two decades, she has participated in symposia in the United States, Scotland, Austria, Japan, Sweden, India and Germany. MacDonagh was greatly taken by the philosophy behind the movement: ‘It was non-competitive and non-commercial; a chance to experiment and learn from older sculptors. The idea of it being collaborative impressed me too, a group of sculptors doing collectively what one alone could not, where sometimes the individual ego was tamed to the collective, arriving at a better overall solution.’ Participating in symposia involves little in the way of remuneration, but it enables sculptors to by-pass the institutionalized structures of museums and galleries, with their attendant critical enfilades. Working alongside fellow artists, MacDonagh learned the language and technique of sculpture, and the importance of scale, of making works that have a strong formal quality yet also relate in a meaningful way to their intended sites. Born in Geevagh, Co. Sligo in 1956, MacDonagh herself now has a house and studio in her native county, which, in spite of her extended travels abroad, she still regards as home. She attended art school at the Sligo Regional Technical College from 1974-79, where she studied under sculptor Fred Conlon and painter John O’Leary, both teachers highly regarded by generations of art students in Sligo. Having gone to art college straight from school, the notion of pursuing art as a career came as something of a revelation: ‘Suddenly the world was revealed to me through art and I thought it was the most amazing discovery and I wished everyone could experience it. All of this seeking of essence - I was quite a purist in those days.’ She remembers O’Leary’s drawing classes as being of special importance. ‘He taught me how to see. He gave a Tuesday night class and you had to be there early to get in. He was a father figure, a man with great humanity.’ Fred Conlon was ‘a wonderful all-round artist’, whose teachings opened her eyes to the formal qualities of sculpture. He inspired her interest in sculpture and when MacDonagh graduated in 1978, it was with a Diploma in Sculpture. She subsequently trained as an art teacher at the Limerick School of Art and Design, but only worked for a short period as a teacher before moving to Japan for a year where she was able to devote her energies fulltime to sculpture. Participating in the 12th International Sculpture Conference in San Francisco in 1982, MacDonagh met artists from the Scottish Sculpture Workshop. An artists’ centre in Aberdeenshire, founded three years earlier by sculptor Frederick Bushe, the SSW provided facilities for Scottish artists to work alongside invited international artists, such as Hironori Katagiri, creating works which were then exhibited in the Scottish Sculpture Open. The tradition established by Bushe at the SSW was not inimical to contemporary trends but the emphasis tended to be on large-scale formalized works, created in traditional media such as wood, stone and metal. MacDonagh returned to Ireland from the United States, determined to work and save enough to allow her to work at the SSW for an extended period. In the interim she participated in 1984 in stone symposia held in 1984 in Dublin and the following year at Hazlewood in Sligo, where she made a gateway, or portal, of beechwood entitled Diarmuid and Grainne, part of a sculpture trail leading through the forest. In 1986, she realized her ambition to work at the SSW when she was selected for a residency. In Scotland, she carved a granite sculpture entitled Linked. Sited at Aberdeen Harbour, this work is a minimal rendering on a giant scale of two interlinked elements of a chain. It clearly showed the direction MacDonagh’s art was taking: sculpture created within a Modernist tradition, employing a playful sense of scale and a high degree of technical fluency. MacDonagh developed this approach further at a symposium held in 1987 in Limerick, where she carved the sculpture Portal from limestone. The shape of the sculpture, one its ‘legs’ standing at an angle, is intended to mirror the regularity of the cut-stone quays contrasting with the angle of wind-blown trees on the river bank where the sculpture is sited. Working with the International Sculpture Conference in Dublin the following year led to an invitation from Hironori Katagiri, to travel to Japan. In Japan, MacDonagh absorbed the aesthetic of contrasting rough finishes with smooth polished surfaces, and of combining found boulders with worked stone. Over the years, MacDonagh has maintained her contact with Japan; her most recent work there is a public sculpture commissioned in 1998 for the Eda Garden Museum in Tokyo. Returning again to Ireland, to direct the 1990 Boglands Symposium in Wicklow, MacDonagh set up home and studio in Athy, Co. Kildare, in a house in which her friend, the sculptor Dick Joynt, had lived. ‘He moved out in 1990 and I had just returned after a year in Japan. I knew the house and moved in and made it my own. We remained strong friends and spoke for hours about stone. If I am symmetrical then Dick is asymmetrical. He was the most giving and generous man I have ever met and I was deeply upset and saddened when he died. I spoke to him before I left for India and he was full of joy and encouragement. He died two days after I got here and I still find it hard to believe he is gone.’ MacDonagh spent twelve years living and working in the house in Athy, before moving to Sligo. Throughout this period she travelled widely, participating in international symposia. In 1992 MacDonagh was in Lulea, Sweden; the following year at Gulbarga, India, where she carved Bridge, a simple basalt sculpture composed of two hinged elements resting on a central fulcrum. The 1993 Stradbally symposium resulted in Standing Stones, sited in the garden of Mountmellick library. Set on a triangular path, three vertical elements evoke portals or gateways, while the title clearly refers to the ancient standing stones found in the Irish countryside. Such references to Irish archaeology and traditional rural practice recur constantly in MacDonagh’s work. While the archaeology of ancient Egypt, the birthplace of geometry, was the inspiration behind the stepped pyramid Boora Pyramid created by MacDonagh in Loughboora, Co. Offaly, in 2002. In MacDonagh’s first exhibition, held at the Project Arts Centre in 1992, elements inspired by Gothic and Romanesque stone carving were counterpoised with the flexible organic quality of wood. For about five months prior to the exhibition, MacDonagh was completely immersed in her work. ‘I made a series of vessels that were all part of considered work, but then a piece came out of nowhere. I thought it was the best piece of all but when I first assembled it, it was as if I hadn’t made it. It was outside my experience. About six months after the show I was travelling in India and I remember vividly visiting a museum in Madras. At the top of the stairs was this huge bronze Dancing Shiva. The minute I saw it I recognized it as my sculpture. In Hinduism, Dancing Shiva is considered to be the embodiment of the universe in its most harmonious state. . . This was truly a moment of enlightenment for me.’ Like many artists commissioned to create works for roadside sites and public spaces in Ireland, MacDonagh spends a considerable amount of time trying to resolve the inevitable conflicts between the functional elements of a modern road, such as signs, kerbs and street furniture, while struggling to maintain the integrity of a work of art. ‘Commissions in Ireland were and still are depressing events in many situations. The sites are often ill thought-out, the leftover triangle after a road has been built. a roundabout or junction with road-signs and clutter everywhere.’ Her success in making works which are aesthetically pleasing and popular in these difficult environments has ensured a continuing demand for MacDonagh’s work by local authorities in Ireland. Among the earliest public commissions MacDonagh received was a request from the Office of Public Works for a sculpture for a courtyard in Dublin Castle. Incommunicado, sited in 1989, addresses itself to this powerfully symbolic site, evoking the uneasy relationship between the Castle, the centre of British administration in Ireland for centuries, and its city environs. A commission from Athlone Regional Technical College in 1992, to celebrate its 30th anniversary, resulted in Cusp, a penannular limestone ring carved in Kilkenny limestone. The above works are sited in relatively secluded locations, in contrast with two sculptures commissioned by Cork County Council. Looking very much like marine flotsam, Buoy, a large sphere carved from limestone, sits alongside the N25 on the shore near Fota Island. The scale of Milk Churns, sited beside the N20 south of Mallow, gives the game away, but in every other respect, this sculpture is a simple, iconic and accurate representation of articles once in everyday use in rural Ireland. Both works have a strong geometric quality, being based on the sphere and the cylinder respectively. Because of this abstract quality, they side step the literal and narrative often associated with commemorative works, yet simultaneously refer to the economic and social history of their locales. The success of these works also depends largely on the fact that they were created for specific locations. Commissioned in 1994 under the percent-for-art-scheme, Milk Churns consists of four standing cylinders, the largest weighing perhaps five tons, carved in limestone. The surfaces of the churns are chiselled, while handles and lids are polished. Each churn has been given an individual character. The lid of one is set slightly askew - a touch of humour, characteristic of MacDonagh’s work. The sculpture is a response both to the site and the surrounding area: ‘The idea began with vessels related to the dairy industry and ended up with milk churns. I was aware at the time that the concept was more a ‘folksy’ response than ‘high art’ but the more I concentrated on other ideas the more I returned to this one.’ Buoy, commissioned in 1997, is sited close to the new dual carriageway that runs along the northern shore of Cork Harbour, facing Fota Island. The landscaping on either side of the carriageway at this point was designed to provide new habitats for wildlife, particularly wading birds. ‘With Buoy I spent a lot of time walking up and down the road trying to figure out how I would deal with the sites. As it was getting dark and I was about to go home I noticed this little headland, a good distance from the road, but a wonderful site. I knew then that I could do something worthwhile if it were available. So it was the site that inspired the sculpture. I consider that this is the best site that I’ve ever placed a sculpture in. There is no interference from any of the usual utilities – road signs, lighting, overhead cables, etc.’ It took MacDonagh three months to carve Buoy. Weighing eleven tons, it was made in two hemispherical sections, joined together. The sculpture is sited right on the shoreline, to appear as if it had been washed up in a storm. The success of these works led to other commissions. In 1999 alone, MacDonagh created three public sculptures, at Tullamore, Boyle, and Waterford city, the latter the most impressive. Sited at Barronstrand Street in Waterford, the sculpture consists of a large stone carved in geometric form, stone paving and thirteen black stone benches. At the base of the geometric centrepiece, water gushes upwards, splashing against the undercut facets of the stone. Unexpectedly sombre and almost funereal in quality, the success of the Barronstrand Street project can be attributed to MacDonagh’s participation in the design team from the outset. Throughout the design process her sculpture was integrated into the overall street design, which included trees and new street furniture. The sculpture helped resolve a problem caused by the incline of the street. ‘This was my first real chance to see in reality what I always thought should be the case – that the whole space should become the sculpture so that the experience is gained by actually being in the space. The space becomes dynamic by the selection and placement of objects in it.’ MacDonagh travelled to a quarry in India to oversee the making of the sculpture for Waterford, a visit which has led to her present extended stay in that country. The sense of geometry underlying most of MacDonagh’s work is particularly evident in smaller pieces such as Hollow Cube, carved in Kilkenny limestone in 1995. While geometry has been an abiding interest for MacDonagh, she has been fascinated in particular by ‘Platonic forms’. These three-dimensional geometric forms range from the simple cube to complex tetrahedrons. Platonic solids are characterized by being composed throughout of similar polygonal facets. Works by MacDonagh inspired by these ideal forms include Icosahedron (1996) a small orb of black polished granite, with circular plate-like motifs in relief, and Star Tetrahedron (1997). The cross-over from pure geometry to the spiritual is evident in Ring (1995), an annular form, set on a natural ‘found’ boulder, and also in Oval, a similar work, dating from the same year, in which the carved element is in the shape of a vesica, or pointed oval, a motif found in Medieval art, used to frame images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. Currently working in India, at the Sangeeta Granite Quarry in Bangalore, MacDonagh’s interest in geometry has culminated in the creation of three large granite icosahedrons. Spherical in form, their surfaces faceted with equilateral triangles, these works are taking the capabilities of the quarry’s diamond-coated wire saws to their limits. ‘Cutting the facets accurately requires endless patience and turning of the stone. I’m making three of these icosahedrons in different coloured granites - the maximum size the saw can take is two metres. Granite is an amazing material - the oldest and paradoxically the youngest (through constant eruptions) material on earth. It is born out of tremendous violence and fire to lie dormant and peaceful for millions of years. To quarry and work it requires again fire and force - every time you strike the stone with a chisel it makes a spark. To embark on these works without the money from a commission is probably foolhardy but for me it’s a dream come true, and the people here at Sangeeta believe in me enough to help make it happen.’ The quality of being able to inspire those around her - and be inspired in turn - has clearly been important in MacDonagh’s life and work. A snowfall in Kildare early in the new year in 1996 inspired Snowstars. Together with friends and family, MacDonagh spent the day making small snow sculptures, scattered across the field beside her house. Each ‘snowstar’ was made of snowballs stacked into hollow cairn-like structures, inspired by icosahedrons. In each was placed a candle or night-light, creating a magical effect as night fell. In contrast with most of MacDonagh’s sculptures, which have a life expectancy of a thousand years, this work lasted only for a few hours, yet it reflected a consistency of approach which is perhaps the strongest underlying quality of MacDonagh as a sculptor ‘There is nothing dull about geometry or symmetry, it’s the fundamental foundation of nature’s laws. Symmetry is not only what is obviously visible – it’s at the root of everything, from the beauty of the structure of a snowflake or a crystal, a leaf or a flower to our very heartbeat, the rhythm of a poem, the structure of music and our innate response to it.’ Peter Murray is the curator of the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork.