200-year-old oaks will be part of monument to '98 Rising

As the 200th anniversary draws to a close, perhaps the most significant 1798 project of them all is only now coming to fruition…

As the 200th anniversary draws to a close, perhaps the most significant 1798 project of them all is only now coming to fruition.

Tulach a' tSolais, meaning Mound of Light, is a multi-faceted monument on Oulart Hill in Co Wexford designed to commemorate, not only the 1798 Rising itself, but the international context in which the event took place, particularly the American and French revolutions.

Design work on the project began three years ago. But when you consider the final result it is easy to see why it all took so long. In short, Tulach a' tSolais is a brilliantly-conceived idea.

The sculptor Michael Warren, who designed the monument with the Dublin architects, Scott Tallon Walker, can describe it at length, but at the end of the day he clearly believes the best thing is for people to go and see it after it is officially unveiled early next year.

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Built on a plateau which offers a panoramic view of Wexford and south Wicklow, the monument will comprise a large, landscaped mound, divided along a central east-west axis by two retaining walls.

The walls define a passage through a recessed chamber within the mound. In a feature commemorating the Age of Enlightenment, the inner chamber will receive maximum illumination on June 21st each year, the day of the summer solstice and also the date of the battle of Vinegar Hill.

For good measure, Vinegar Hill itself will be the image framed for ever by the east-west passage, lying directly as it does eight miles west of Oulart Hill, which was also the scene of a battle in 1798.

Within the chamber will be two horizontal sculptures in 200-year old Irish oak; in other words, as Michael Warren reminds us, oak from trees which existed as saplings when the events being commemorated took place.

The project has received Government funding of £200,000, and the Tulach a' tSolais Committee, chaired by Mr Brian Cleary, has raised a further £150,000.

But an estimated £200,000 more is needed. A major fundraising drive is under way, and donors' names will be recorded in a book on the monument itself.

In the words of Brian Cleary, Tulach a' tSolais will emphasise the "enlightened aspirations of a great generation in tune with the wider world of their time".

Donations to the Tulach a' tSolais project can be sent to: Ms Mary Prendergast, honorary treasurer, Tulach a' tSolais, Oulart, Gorey, Co Wexford