Anna Livia Plurabelle.
As Dublin prepared to celebrate its Millennium year in 1988 plans for a new monument to stand on the main street of the capital city were well
advanced. A monument incorporating a bronze statue was commissioned by businessman Michael Smurfit in memory of his father at a cost £200,000
Sculptor Eamonn O’Doherty was commissioned to create the statue that would celebrate Dublin’s Millennium. The statue was inspired by James Joyce’s character Anna Livia Plurabelle, who featured in Finnegan’s Wake as a personification of the River that flows through Dublin Town.
Eamonn O’Doherty was born in Derry, he created many large-scale public sculptures in Ireland, Britain and the United States. His sculptures include ‘Crann an Oir’ (Tree of Gold) at the Central Bank Plaza Dublin and the ‘Galway Hookers’ in Eyre Square Galway. He lectured for many years at the Faculty of Architecture at the Dublin Institute of Technology as well as at other universities around the world. He was also a talented painter, photographer and musician. Eamonn O’Doherty passed away on the 4th August 2011.
Undoubtedly the Anna Livia sculpture was beautiful, it was a fast-flowing fountain set on the heart of the capital's main thoroughfare. Unfortunately the structure proved troublesome and the monument soon became a focal point for 'undesirables'. It became a target for litter and graffiti, drunken revelers frequently dumped washing up liquid into the fountain at weekends — covering the street in froth
and foam. It rapidly came to be nicknamed the Floozie in the Jacuzzi, the Hoor in the Sewer.
Dublin City Council decided to remove the Anna Livia monument in 2001, and she spent a decade hidden away in a crate in a yard at St Anne's Park in Raheny in the Northside of Dublin far from the banks of the river Liffey.
In February 2010, after consulting with the artist Eamonn O’Doherty, a decision was made to relocate the Anna Livia sculpture to the Croppies Acre Memorial Park by the Dublin City Council. This site forms part a burial ground for the fallen of the 1798 Rebellion. This plot was acquired by Dublin Corporation in 1969 to accommodate road realignment, however with the construction of the nearby Frank Sherwin Bridge across the
River Liffey; the land was handed over to the Parks Department in 1982 for development as a pocket park, the layout of which remains intact
today.
The beautiful 5.5metre bronze casting of the Anna Livia figure, which reclined in that granite fountain on O’Connell Street, was re-erected at the Croppy's Acre site. Having been refurbished, Anna Livia was ready to journey to her new home. The bronze monument was taken on a
special journey she was floated down the Liffey, she could have been brought by truck but given all the circumstances the sculptor made the suggestion to take her by river to the new site. The small idea turned into a reality when the organisers got in touch with Ringsend
Boat Club, they were more than happy to bring Anna Livia to her new home.
She was paraded down the Liffey at lunchtime, so that people were able to see her. It was appropriate that on her last journey she would
float down the middle of the city. It was a great sense of occasion which the heads of Dubliners been turned as they recognized this familiar figure, the event was covered live on the radio by none other than Dublin’s own Joe Duffy.
Anna Livia lies in a purpose-built pond in accordance with the sculptor's wishes, he insisted she be located near the Liffey and in water. Mr. O'Doherty also made some adjustments as she is now in a more reclining position to better suit her new location.
advanced. A monument incorporating a bronze statue was commissioned by businessman Michael Smurfit in memory of his father at a cost £200,000
Sculptor Eamonn O’Doherty was commissioned to create the statue that would celebrate Dublin’s Millennium. The statue was inspired by James Joyce’s character Anna Livia Plurabelle, who featured in Finnegan’s Wake as a personification of the River that flows through Dublin Town.
Eamonn O’Doherty was born in Derry, he created many large-scale public sculptures in Ireland, Britain and the United States. His sculptures include ‘Crann an Oir’ (Tree of Gold) at the Central Bank Plaza Dublin and the ‘Galway Hookers’ in Eyre Square Galway. He lectured for many years at the Faculty of Architecture at the Dublin Institute of Technology as well as at other universities around the world. He was also a talented painter, photographer and musician. Eamonn O’Doherty passed away on the 4th August 2011.
Undoubtedly the Anna Livia sculpture was beautiful, it was a fast-flowing fountain set on the heart of the capital's main thoroughfare. Unfortunately the structure proved troublesome and the monument soon became a focal point for 'undesirables'. It became a target for litter and graffiti, drunken revelers frequently dumped washing up liquid into the fountain at weekends — covering the street in froth
and foam. It rapidly came to be nicknamed the Floozie in the Jacuzzi, the Hoor in the Sewer.
Dublin City Council decided to remove the Anna Livia monument in 2001, and she spent a decade hidden away in a crate in a yard at St Anne's Park in Raheny in the Northside of Dublin far from the banks of the river Liffey.
In February 2010, after consulting with the artist Eamonn O’Doherty, a decision was made to relocate the Anna Livia sculpture to the Croppies Acre Memorial Park by the Dublin City Council. This site forms part a burial ground for the fallen of the 1798 Rebellion. This plot was acquired by Dublin Corporation in 1969 to accommodate road realignment, however with the construction of the nearby Frank Sherwin Bridge across the
River Liffey; the land was handed over to the Parks Department in 1982 for development as a pocket park, the layout of which remains intact
today.
The beautiful 5.5metre bronze casting of the Anna Livia figure, which reclined in that granite fountain on O’Connell Street, was re-erected at the Croppy's Acre site. Having been refurbished, Anna Livia was ready to journey to her new home. The bronze monument was taken on a
special journey she was floated down the Liffey, she could have been brought by truck but given all the circumstances the sculptor made the suggestion to take her by river to the new site. The small idea turned into a reality when the organisers got in touch with Ringsend
Boat Club, they were more than happy to bring Anna Livia to her new home.
She was paraded down the Liffey at lunchtime, so that people were able to see her. It was appropriate that on her last journey she would
float down the middle of the city. It was a great sense of occasion which the heads of Dubliners been turned as they recognized this familiar figure, the event was covered live on the radio by none other than Dublin’s own Joe Duffy.
Anna Livia lies in a purpose-built pond in accordance with the sculptor's wishes, he insisted she be located near the Liffey and in water. Mr. O'Doherty also made some adjustments as she is now in a more reclining position to better suit her new location.