Paula Murphy examines the political character of Oliver Sheppard’s work as exemplified by Cuchulainn and his all’antica portrayal of Padraig Pearse
These words, in Yeats’ last play written in 1939, refer to Oliver Sheppard’s statue of the Death of Cuchulainn (Fig 2), which had been unveiled in Dublin’s General Post Office (GPO) in 1935. This sculpture has ensured that Sheppard is forever associated with the Easter Rising, because it was chosen tO serve as the official memorial to the events of 1916. However, it was not created for that purpose, nor was Sheppard an active participant in what took place in Dublin at that time. According to his daughter in conversation with this writer, April 1983, Sheppard was not a political person. Nonetheless, he affirmed his desire for Ireland, when he was reported as having said that ‘this country should be a free country’ (Irish Press, 24 March 1937). Nowhere is his political position more evident than in his work – both his subject pieces and and his commemorative sculptures – much of which is indicative of nationalist leanings. The selection of his Cuchulainn statue to commemorate 1916 serves as confirmation, although the work was never intended for such a lofty purpose. Modelled in plaster in 1911, Sheppard exhibited his Celtic subject piece at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in 1914, in anticipation of attracting a patron to commission the casting of the work in bronze.
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