HEART OF GLASS MEMORIAL TO OMAGH BOMB VICTIMS
Heart of glass memorial to Omagh bomb victims
A GARDEN awash with shimmering light has been chosen as a memorial to the victims of the Omagh bomb atrocity of 1998.
"Constant Light", designed by artist Sean Hillen and landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald, beat off international competition entries to be chosen as the winning design for the memorial garden commemorating the 31 bomb victims, including two unborn children.
The design brings together the temporary memorial garden at Drumragh Avenue and the bomb site using rays of refracted light.
The �250,000 project will see the present temporary garden transformed to feature a pool of light tracking the sun and pouring light onto 31 small mirrors mounted on poles.
These mirrors will transmit the light over nearby buildings onto a cut-glass heart sculpture, mounted within a 4.5m pillar of glass at the site of the bomb.
The designers said: "It will sparkle and glitter with the tight.
"The approach to the art work is that it should attempt to express simply, uninhibitedly and vividly the huge outpouring of compassion for the victims."
The park will also feature bright granite flag stones with grass and fragrant herbs such as thyme and camomile growing through the joints. Silver birches will also be interplanted with bluebells and poppies.
The design was chosen from a shortlist of five after the judges whittled down the competition from 32 international entries.
Danny McSorley, of the Omagh Memorial Working Group, said that the heliostat used to refract the sun is designed to last for a period of around 40 years, after which it will be reset. "The design recognises the enormity of the past but is looking forward, with the support of new ideas and new technology," he told BBC Radio Ulster.
The garden will provide a place for reflection for those bereaved by the Real IRA bomb, including families in Buncrana and Madrid, those who were injured or traumatised, those who cared for the injured and bereaved and those who joined in the task of reconstructing the community, according to Omagh Memorial Working Group.
The memorial is expected to be ready in time for the 10th anniversary of the bombing.
LINDA MCKEE
A GARDEN awash with shimmering light has been chosen as a memorial to the victims of the Omagh bomb atrocity of 1998.
"Constant Light", designed by artist Sean Hillen and landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald, beat off international competition entries to be chosen as the winning design for the memorial garden commemorating the 31 bomb victims, including two unborn children.
The design brings together the temporary memorial garden at Drumragh Avenue and the bomb site using rays of refracted light.
The �250,000 project will see the present temporary garden transformed to feature a pool of light tracking the sun and pouring light onto 31 small mirrors mounted on poles.
These mirrors will transmit the light over nearby buildings onto a cut-glass heart sculpture, mounted within a 4.5m pillar of glass at the site of the bomb.
The designers said: "It will sparkle and glitter with the tight.
"The approach to the art work is that it should attempt to express simply, uninhibitedly and vividly the huge outpouring of compassion for the victims."
The park will also feature bright granite flag stones with grass and fragrant herbs such as thyme and camomile growing through the joints. Silver birches will also be interplanted with bluebells and poppies.
The design was chosen from a shortlist of five after the judges whittled down the competition from 32 international entries.
Danny McSorley, of the Omagh Memorial Working Group, said that the heliostat used to refract the sun is designed to last for a period of around 40 years, after which it will be reset. "The design recognises the enormity of the past but is looking forward, with the support of new ideas and new technology," he told BBC Radio Ulster.
The garden will provide a place for reflection for those bereaved by the Real IRA bomb, including families in Buncrana and Madrid, those who were injured or traumatised, those who cared for the injured and bereaved and those who joined in the task of reconstructing the community, according to Omagh Memorial Working Group.
The memorial is expected to be ready in time for the 10th anniversary of the bombing.
LINDA MCKEE
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1039
Published Date: 18-Sep-07
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