The Statues & Sculptures of Dublin City

How often do you walk past the many statues and sculptures of Dublin without a second glance? Do you know what statues flank the main entrance to Trinity College? What’s special about the tie worn by the Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square? Why does the Standard Life Assurance Company have a frieze depicting a Biblical parable at the top of its old headquarters? Well these and many more such questions will be answered when Neal Doherty author of  The Complete Guide to the Statues and Sculptures of Dublin City will give a talk to the Rathdrum Historical Society on Monday 6th November in the RDA Hall Annex.

Neal Dohertyis a true-blue Dubliner and Fa´ilte Ireland qualified tour guide who has been introducing tourists to the history and culture of Dublin for many years. While working for Nestlé in Dublin, he would often show visiting executives around his city. From this he developed his love of history and tour guiding, and subsequently developed a new career as a tour guide. Now he gives tours in English and French every day to some of the thousands of tourists who visit Dublin each year. Neal’s book is an informative guide to more than 250 statues and sculptures of our capital city. These works of art tell the story of Dublin, from the arrival of the Vikings and the oppression of the Penal Laws, through the rich Georgian era and the horror of the Famine, to the fight for Irish freedom and on to the modernity of the twenty-first century. With each work the artist tells a story, capturing not just the leaders, but the myths, the writers, the thinkers, the scientists and the dreamers who have shaped Dublin and Ireland over the centuries.

 Who is depicted in these statues? What is the symbolism of the motifs used? Who are the artists? Who created them, who commissioned them and why? Neal Doherty will introduce us to the personalities of Dublin, as well as the dominant themes of literature, nationalism, religion and famine that have shaped Dublin over the centuries when he visits Rathdrum on 6th November. Please note the change of venue to the RDA Hall Annex (to the side of Rowley’s shop) where all will be welcome at 8pm.

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