MEMORIAL GLASS PILLAR INSTALLED AT BOMB SITE
Memorial glass pillar installed at bomb site
THE development of the 'Garden of Light' Memorial in Omagh is nearing completion and will be ready in time for the tenth anniversary commemorative ceremony on Friday, August 15.
Another milestone in the development of the memorial was passed on Sunday with the installation of the glass pillar at the bomb site.
Standing 4.5 metres high, the obelisk is created from sheets of toughened glass laminated together, with a cut crystal heart, made by Tyrone Crystal, suspended inside it.
The installation was a very complex operation, which lasted over 18 hours from 4am in the morning until almost 10pm on Sunday night. Twenty-one sheets of glass, bonded together in sets of three sheets, were lowered into a specially created foundation framework by crane. The crystal heart was also made in sections and was inserted into the sheets of glass. When the glass was put in place and sealed together, the heart achieved a three-dimensional effect.
The unveiling of the monument, together with the official opening of the memorial garden which is also nearing completion, will take place as part of the 10th anniversary commemorative ceremony on Friday 15 August at 3pm.
The glass for the monument was cut by Carey Glass, Co Tipperary. The crystal heart was created and cut by Tyrone Crystal.
The design of the Omagh Memorial as a whole is highly innovative and uses light as a means of integrating and linking the 2 sites - the memorial garden and the bomb site. The central theme and inspiration for the design is that "light unites us all in that it makes all life possible". The concept of reflection connects to reactions to and consequences of the atrocity. The approach is to design a garden of light, glittering and sparkling. The garden is formed by lines of small mirrors positioned on poles around a reflecting pool and backed by a grassy bank planted with silver birches and wildflowers. A large mirror, a helio-stat, racks the sun and pours a beam of sunlight onto the 31 small mirrors which is then reflected onto another bank of mirrors at the street corner and on to a crystal heart which appears to float in the pillar of glass here at the bomb site. The heart will sparkle and glitter as it catches, reflects and distributes the light, reminding us of the sunlight that shines on us all and makes all life possible.
The narrative for the memorial will be at three locations: a small plaque at the bomb site and a short inscription at the entrance to the Memorial Garden, with the remainder of the substantial narrative carved on granite coping stones on a wall inside the garden.
The narrative was the result of dedicated work by an Independent Facilitation Team, who had over 80 meetings with individuals and groups who had been affected by the Omagh Bomb. Not only does it commemorate those who were killed in the atrocity, but it also includes the context of the event as well as words of hope and healing about the future.
THE development of the 'Garden of Light' Memorial in Omagh is nearing completion and will be ready in time for the tenth anniversary commemorative ceremony on Friday, August 15.
Another milestone in the development of the memorial was passed on Sunday with the installation of the glass pillar at the bomb site.
Standing 4.5 metres high, the obelisk is created from sheets of toughened glass laminated together, with a cut crystal heart, made by Tyrone Crystal, suspended inside it.
The installation was a very complex operation, which lasted over 18 hours from 4am in the morning until almost 10pm on Sunday night. Twenty-one sheets of glass, bonded together in sets of three sheets, were lowered into a specially created foundation framework by crane. The crystal heart was also made in sections and was inserted into the sheets of glass. When the glass was put in place and sealed together, the heart achieved a three-dimensional effect.
The unveiling of the monument, together with the official opening of the memorial garden which is also nearing completion, will take place as part of the 10th anniversary commemorative ceremony on Friday 15 August at 3pm.
The glass for the monument was cut by Carey Glass, Co Tipperary. The crystal heart was created and cut by Tyrone Crystal.
The design of the Omagh Memorial as a whole is highly innovative and uses light as a means of integrating and linking the 2 sites - the memorial garden and the bomb site. The central theme and inspiration for the design is that "light unites us all in that it makes all life possible". The concept of reflection connects to reactions to and consequences of the atrocity. The approach is to design a garden of light, glittering and sparkling. The garden is formed by lines of small mirrors positioned on poles around a reflecting pool and backed by a grassy bank planted with silver birches and wildflowers. A large mirror, a helio-stat, racks the sun and pours a beam of sunlight onto the 31 small mirrors which is then reflected onto another bank of mirrors at the street corner and on to a crystal heart which appears to float in the pillar of glass here at the bomb site. The heart will sparkle and glitter as it catches, reflects and distributes the light, reminding us of the sunlight that shines on us all and makes all life possible.
The narrative for the memorial will be at three locations: a small plaque at the bomb site and a short inscription at the entrance to the Memorial Garden, with the remainder of the substantial narrative carved on granite coping stones on a wall inside the garden.
The narrative was the result of dedicated work by an Independent Facilitation Team, who had over 80 meetings with individuals and groups who had been affected by the Omagh Bomb. Not only does it commemorate those who were killed in the atrocity, but it also includes the context of the event as well as words of hope and healing about the future.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH10An/02
Published Date: 31-Jul-08
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