Waterford environmental artist Sean Corcoran has joined forces with Failte Ireland to celebrate the re-opening of the tourism and hospitality sectors.
He created a unique piece of sand artwork, by hand, on Killmurrin Cove in Co Waterford. The map of Ireland with symbolic iconography was made by hand and measured by the artist's eye and outlined with bamboo sticks.
Measuring wider than the height of Dublin’s Liberty Hall, at 120ft in height and 200 ft wide, the unique piece of art is intended to rally the nation to get out and explore all that Ireland has to offer as part of Fáilte Ireland’s ‘Keep Discovering’ campaign.
After a long period of lockdown, business closures and restriction on people’s movements, the art was created to draw a literal line in the sand on the past number of months, welcome the summer, and encourage people to get out and remember the joy of exploring Ireland this summer.
Artist Sean Corcoran said it took six hours to do and was so much fun:
"I’ve been creating environmental artwork for many years, but after such a long time under restrictions it was wonderful to get out on my local beach again and do what I love. I had my own little self-discovery today creating this very integrated piece, discovering different locations across the country as I drew them. We started by going up the east coast and going across to the Wild Atlantic Way, creating the outline of the country and then crafting the iconic images one associates with Ireland."
The process was a tricky one. The beach sand had to be dried after several days of heavy rain by using a complex system of manmade drains to release water from the beach sand and redirect ground water out to sea. This was done using a V shaped agricultural tool used for planting potatoes and other crops. The process took an hour to reduce ground water and create the perfect conditions for the sand art.
Caoimhe Ní Dhuibhinn, Acting Head of Marketing, Fáilte Ireland commented:
“We wanted to mark the next stage of the reopening of the tourism and hospitality sectors and Sean’s sand art is a fantastic expression of how much there is to discover in Ireland. Fáilte Ireland’s Keep Discovering campaign will run until the end of the year to encourage people to take a break in Ireland this year. We have lots of activity planned over the next number of months to remind more Irish people to discover the joy of holidaying in Ireland as they begin to reconnect with each other."
