Turf, Wind and Fire sculpture by Ross Hathaway, Paul Coyne and Rosemary Langtry at Lough Boora Discovery Park in Co Offaly. LoughBoora.com
Lough Boora Discovery Park in County Offaly has been named one of the 10 best sculpture parks in Europe by The Guardian.
The former peat bog, in Ireland’s Midlands, once supplied a million tons of peat annually, but has been remade into a wildlife sanctuary and a place of refuge for visitors.
Passage sculpture by Alan Counihan is “a trench passageway of railway sleepers beneath the turf bank surface.” Credit: LoughBoora.com
The park, which is open year-round, is home to 24 land and environmental large-scale sculptures, inspired by the area’s industrial heritage. According to the Lough Boora website, the sculpture park "pays homage to our human interaction with the boglands."
The Celtic Knot, by Padraig Larkin, is made from the gnarled root of a pine tree and symbolizes the Celts’ belief in the continuity of life into eternity. Credit: LoughBoora.com
The park is home to one of the most imporant Mesolithic sites in Ireland and has five themed trails, including the two-mile sculpture route. Other trails explore farmland, lakes, and wildlife.
The 60 Degrees sculpture by Kevin O’Dwyer is made from disused railway tracks, sleepers and steel. Credit: LoughBoora.com
Some of the other sculpture parks on The Guardian’s list include the Austrian Sculpture Park in Graz, Vigeland Park in Oslo, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, and the Chianti Sculpture Park in Italy.
For more information on Lough Boora, visit loughboora.com