Anne Devlin Memorial Committee

26/01/2006

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

The Anne Devlin Memorial Committee
Cruagh Lane, Killakee, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16
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Email: mfcconnolly@gmail.com
PRESS RELEASE
 
23rd January 2006
 
 
Handing over the Anne Devlin Statue and site to South Dublin County Council
 
On Friday, 27th January 2006, the closing event of the raising of the Anne Devlin Statue in Rathfarnham Village will take place at the Mayors office, County Hall, Tallaght, at 10.30  a.m.: The Anne Devlin Memorial Committee will, in the presence of Mayor Therese Ridge, hand over ownership and control of the Anne Devlin Statue and site to South Dublin County Council.
 
Mr. Pat Lambert, chairman of the original committee that was set up to initiate the statue project in 2002, will hand a letter of transfer to the mayor. Mr. Frank Connolly, chairman of the Anne Devlin Memorial Committee will hand over, on loan for safekeeping, the Anne Devlin macquette, to Mr. Kieran Swords, representing the library service of SDCC.
 
Plans to erect the statue began in November 2002 when a group of citizens from the greater Rathfarnham area came together under the chairmanship of Mr. Patrick Lambert, a committee member of The Robert Emmet Association which, through Emmet200, was set up by the Department of An Taoiseach to commemorate the United Irish Revolutionary period 1791-1803. “We formed ourselves into the Anne Devlin Commemoration Association,” Mr. Lambert said, “became affiliated with The Robert Emmet Association, and began planning a suitable memorial in Rathfarnham Village.”
 
On Thursday 4th March at 12 noon, Councillor Máire Ardagh, Mayor of South Dublin County Council unveiled a life-size bronze statue of Anne Devlin, Robert Emmet’s loyal friend and supporter. In his address to the several hundred in attendance at the unveiling ceremony in Rathfarnham, guest speaker, Robert Ballagh, artist and designer, said: “There is a dearth of statues in Ireland to noted Irish figures in general and Irish women in particular.” He congratulated the people of Rathfarnham and South County Dublin for their magnificent effort in raising a fine bronze statue to a patriot Irish woman. He added that it was also a fine piece of sculpture and a beautiful work of art, and paid warm tribute to the young Tallaght sculptor, Clodagh Emoe, for her splendid achievement.
 
After consultations with a broad group of academics and local people it was decided that the most appropriate memorial would be a life-size bronze statue of Anne Devlin, to be erected in Rathfarnham Village. The association discussed their plans with the elected members of the South Dublin County Council's Terenure/Rathfarnham Area Committee, and with Dr. Chris Boylan Head of the Council's Parks Department, and Mr. Michael Coleman (SEO) of the Council's Community Department. All agreed that the proposed statue would add to the enhancement of the area and contribute considerably to the upgrading of the historic village.

The members of the Anne Devlin Commemoration Association appointed a sub-committee to attend to the detailed planning of the memorial project and the Anne Devlin Memorial Committee was established for that purpose: Chairman, Mr. Frank Connolly (Administrator of The Robert Emmet Association), Secretary, Mr. Aidan O’Hara, Treasurer, Mr. Patrick Lambert, and Mr. Seán Sherwin. “We were fortunate in having the expert advice and guidance of one of Ireland's most distinguished artists, Robert Ballagh,” Mr. O’Hara said. “He helped us in choosing a suitable site for the statue, and in adjudicating on submissions from four well-known sculptors. We commissioned a local sculptor, Ms Clodagh Emoe, who is a native of Tallaght.”
 
Since the chosen site was in the control of the S. D. C. C. it was necessary to apply for permission to lodge a planning application. Mr Paul Martin of Lynch O’Toole Martin, architects, Rathfarnham, generously agreed to handle the technicalities of the project. By happy coincidence, the Anne Devlin Commemoration Association’s plans for the memorial statue coincided with South Dublin County Council’s plans for art projects in the Rathfarnham/ Templeogue/Terenure area, and so, the association’s application for support from the Council was met with a positive and helpful response right from the start. One of the larger private contributions came from The Wexfordmen’s ’98 Centenary Association Dublin who donated €1,000 to the statue fund.
 
“The day was decided upon because 4th March is Emmet’s birthday, and the location chosen for the statue is associated with both heroic figures,” Mr. Frank Connolly, pointed out. “Robert’s brother, Thomas Addis Emmet, barrister and a leading figure in the United Irishmen movement, practiced law in Rathfarnham and had a home there, and Anne’s father, Brian Devlin, had a dairy farm just off Butterfield Avenue - or Lane as it was called 200 years ago.” Mr. Connolly added that Robert also was in hiding in the area after the 1803 Rising, and in their searches for him, the local Yeomanry half-hanged Anne to get her to talk before throwing her and members of her family in prison. “Anne Devlin endured three years of imprisonment in Kilmainham Jail and Dublin Castle under frightful  conditions,” he said, “much of it in solitary confinement. But in spite of the threats, torture and trickery of the Dublin Castle regime, she remained true to Robert Emmet and the cause for which he died.”
 
In her unveiling speech, Mayor Ardagh said: “Through the Per Cent for Art Scheme funded by the Department of the of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, South Dublin County Council was glad to provide funding for the statue which will be part of Rathfarnham Village for generations to come.” The Council’s generous funding provision for the statue project constituted approximately 40% of the total cost. The remainder came from people in the professions, the arts, trades, and from the citizenry who gave wholeheartedly in cash and in kind.
 
Robert Ballagh was design consultant; author of Irish Stone Walls, Mr. Pat McAfee, stone mason and lecturer, advised on the stone work for the site; solicitor Mr. Joe Clancy of Rathfarnham provided guidance with legal matters. Tommy Murphy of Murphystone, Sandyford, provided the granite for the wall backdrop and the plinth stone for the plaque. The site engineering work was done by Brian Cullen of Jackson Homes, and site work was done by Dave O’Neill; site equipment was provided by Cormac Hade of Rathfarnham Hire. The memorial site was generously provided by South Dublin County Council and was landscaped by their Parks Department. The memorial was finished in a fitting way when in March 2005 Cllr Máire Ardagh unveiled a bi-lingual plaque, which identifies the statue and its significance to the area..
 
Contact: Frank Connolly Tel. (01) 453 5236, Mobile 087 243 8121, Email: mfcconnolly@gmail.com.