Ancient high cross recreated for US site

Donegal sculptor Brendan McGloin has undertaken the daunting task of recreating an ancient high cross which was carved on the banks of the River Shannon 1,100 years ago.

The sculpture, weighing five tonnes and measuring 13 feet high, is to be shipped from Donegal to the west coast of the United States.

Mr David Ó Longaigh, originally from Dublin, and other members of the Irish business community in Portland have selected the piece as a Famine memorial to mark an important chapter in Irish history.

The sculpture, with intricate Celtic, Roman and Greek imagery, is to be a replica of the Cross of the Scriptures, which was erected at Clonmacnois, Co Offaly, around 912 AD for High King Flann.

Mr Ó Longaigh said the Famine coincided with the time of the Oregon trail and in the 1850s, 30 per cent of foreign-born residents of Oregon were Irish.

"We wanted a memorial which would make visitors reflect not only on the potato famine, but also what was and is great about Ireland."

Mr Ó Longaigh, an engineer with the city of Portland, and other supporters of the project have raised over $100,000 towards the cost of having the cross hand-carved and shipped in three parts to Portland.

McGloin (36), from Bundoran, spent four months researching the project and visited Clonmacnois, Co Offaly, four times. He is using digital images, sketches, photographs and a life-size foam replica for guidance.

Reproducing the most famous of three high crosses at Clonmacnois is a labour of love for the sculptor. "Nothing like this has been done before. There are over 20 separate panels on the cross and the sheer scale of the piece creates logistical problems in the workshop. Because of the size and weight, I have to treat it like a baby," he said.

The Cross of the Scriptures features a portrait of High King Flann and, very unusually, the image of a woman, in this case Mary Magdalene. The original cross, now housed in an interpretative centre at Clonmacnois, was made of hard sandstone.

McGloin sourced his sandstone locally in a Donegal quarry. He started work in November and believes the job could take a year. The Portland Irish will be happy to have it installed at the Mount Calvery cemetery in the city by St Patrick's Day 2006.

"I have a romantic idea of having it follow the route of those it commemorates," said Mr Ó Longaigh. "Our vision is to have it go by ship to New York and then by rail to Oregon, following the path of the Irish emigrants."