Estonian Gift of Sculpture for Galway City

Estonian Gift of Sculpture for Galway City

galway.net , 21 April 2004

Oscar Wilde will sit permanently on William Street, Galway, along with the famous Estonian writer, Eduard Wilde, from Saturday the 24th April 2004, as the City of Tartu in Estonia are presenting Galway with a replica of their most famous sculpture ahead of the 'Day of Welcomes' celebration.

The sculpture will be officially unveiled on William Street (outside Matt O'Flaherty's Pharmacy), at 1pm by the Mayor of Galway, Terry O'Flaherty, who will be joined by a host of Estonian dignitaries, including the Ambassador to Ireland, Simmu Tiik.

The sculpture is a replica of the whimsical streetscape image that sits outside the Wilde Irish Pub in Tartu, Estonia. The two Wildes were contemporary Irish and Estonian writers and this sculpture imagines their possible meeting in 1892.

The people of Estonia have for some time stated their enthusiasm for making a copy of the sculpture and presenting it as a gift to Ireland. A miniature bronze cast was presented to President McAleese on her visit to the country in 2001.

Estonian journalists, businessmen and artists as well as Government Ministers, European parliamentarians and dignitaries will join with the Galway community on April 24th at the unveiling of this special gift.

Estonia will be 'welcomed' by the City of Galway as a part of the Irish 'Day of Welcomes' celebration on May 1st. The Day of Welcomes is a special date in Ireland's European Presidency calendar when, as part of the Cultural Programme for the Irish EU Presidency, 10 towns and cities across the country will organise a celebration to welcome the new accession States into the European Union. Galway is delighted with the prospect of welcoming Estonia for this occasion.

The main activity on May 1st will occur around St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church. The grounds of the old church will host market stalls representing our European neighbours, to complement the traditional market in that area.

Between 2pm and 5pm that day this area will be a buzz with the best of Galway's bands performing outside of St. Nicholas's while the inside of the Church will be full of theatre and pageantry. At 5pm Ireland's leading community arts group, Macnas, will lead a spectacular and colourful parade from the church grounds to the historic Spanish Arch, where this colourful party will provide entertainment until late.

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