SHEDDING SOME LIGHT ON THE MEMORIAL QUESTION
Shedding some light on the memorial question
by Emma Stewart
The Tyrone Crystal heart on Omagh's Market Street has yet to sparkle with refracted light, admits Omagh District Council, as alignment of the mirrors at the Memorial Garden has not been possible, due to "unseasonably poor weather conditions".
Following a number of enquiries from puzzled local residents, the Tyrone Constitution asked the council whether the complex memorial design - marking the 1998 Omagh bomb - was, in fact, working as planned.
In the Memorial Garden a heliostat - positioned by computer control - tracks the sun constantly. It is designed to pour constant beams of sunlight onto 31 pole-mounted small mirrors. These mirrors are fixed and directed to 'bounce' the light up Drumragh Avenue, around the corner via one more gable-mounted mirror, on to the crystal heart inside the glass obelisk.
The heart, claims designer Sean Hillen, should then "sparkle and glitter gently with the light".
Following the removal of a spotlight, which had been directed at the glass pillar to replicate this effect in the interim, questions have been asked as to whether in a town not known for blue skies and soaring temperatures - the design could ever achieve its professed potential.
A spokesperson for Omagh District Council offered assurances that, given time and weather conditions conducive to further work, the memorial will fulfil its promise.
She said: "The heliostat equipment at the Garden of Light memorial is fully installed, commissioned and is in working order. This equipment tracks the sun throughout the day and reflects sunlight on to the 31 small mirrors in the garden and from the garden to the glass pillar at Market Street. This reflected sunlight will provide the link and integration between the Memorial Garden at Drumragh Avenue and the memorial at Market Street. "The installation of this equipment was undertaken in late July/early August. However, since then, due to the unseasonably poor weather conditions, it has not yet been possible for the artist, Sean Hillen, to fully align all of the mirrors to achieve the desired effect on the pillar at Market Street. This situation is deeply regretted by the artist and by all involved and plans are in place to ensure the completion of this work as soon as weather conditions permit."
Likewise, a statement on the designer's website acknowledges that "due to the period of poor weather, the mirror system is only partially calibrated", but that the situation is to be rectified within the next few weeks.
Member of Omagh District Council, Paddy McGowan, has expressed his belief that all will be well in the end, and that the delay is "just one of those things".
"I would apologise to those people who would like to see it in operation, but frankly the weather has just been so inclement that it has made it impossible."
Making reference to the pouring rain which prevailed throughout the unveiling ceremony in August, he added: "It couldn't happen on a worse year. The day of the tenth anniversary itself gave enough of an indication of what we're facing."
by Emma Stewart
The Tyrone Crystal heart on Omagh's Market Street has yet to sparkle with refracted light, admits Omagh District Council, as alignment of the mirrors at the Memorial Garden has not been possible, due to "unseasonably poor weather conditions".
Following a number of enquiries from puzzled local residents, the Tyrone Constitution asked the council whether the complex memorial design - marking the 1998 Omagh bomb - was, in fact, working as planned.
In the Memorial Garden a heliostat - positioned by computer control - tracks the sun constantly. It is designed to pour constant beams of sunlight onto 31 pole-mounted small mirrors. These mirrors are fixed and directed to 'bounce' the light up Drumragh Avenue, around the corner via one more gable-mounted mirror, on to the crystal heart inside the glass obelisk.
The heart, claims designer Sean Hillen, should then "sparkle and glitter gently with the light".
Following the removal of a spotlight, which had been directed at the glass pillar to replicate this effect in the interim, questions have been asked as to whether in a town not known for blue skies and soaring temperatures - the design could ever achieve its professed potential.
A spokesperson for Omagh District Council offered assurances that, given time and weather conditions conducive to further work, the memorial will fulfil its promise.
She said: "The heliostat equipment at the Garden of Light memorial is fully installed, commissioned and is in working order. This equipment tracks the sun throughout the day and reflects sunlight on to the 31 small mirrors in the garden and from the garden to the glass pillar at Market Street. This reflected sunlight will provide the link and integration between the Memorial Garden at Drumragh Avenue and the memorial at Market Street. "The installation of this equipment was undertaken in late July/early August. However, since then, due to the unseasonably poor weather conditions, it has not yet been possible for the artist, Sean Hillen, to fully align all of the mirrors to achieve the desired effect on the pillar at Market Street. This situation is deeply regretted by the artist and by all involved and plans are in place to ensure the completion of this work as soon as weather conditions permit."
Likewise, a statement on the designer's website acknowledges that "due to the period of poor weather, the mirror system is only partially calibrated", but that the situation is to be rectified within the next few weeks.
Member of Omagh District Council, Paddy McGowan, has expressed his belief that all will be well in the end, and that the delay is "just one of those things".
"I would apologise to those people who would like to see it in operation, but frankly the weather has just been so inclement that it has made it impossible."
Making reference to the pouring rain which prevailed throughout the unveiling ceremony in August, he added: "It couldn't happen on a worse year. The day of the tenth anniversary itself gave enough of an indication of what we're facing."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1965
Published Date: 18-Sep-08
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