Like many boys, I grew up on kings and queens, knights and castles. There is always a horse to ride, a dragon to slay, a princess to save from the evil baron, and yes, there is always the magic of the druids and the sorcerers. Despite everything that Ireland is now, despite my previous visits to its green countryside, despite one of the highest growth rates in EU and despite its burgeoning IT industry, Ireland will always be, to me, a land of magical enchantment.
In my mind, this myth-soaked country has castles with towers that overlook the historical marketplaces. I will propose to build this tower, albeit one that ushers in Ireland’s great strides in today’s world, one that marks the incredible depths of its history, its myths and its culture in stride with modern Ireland, now victorious knight of Technology. It will still overlook a market square yet be of modern form, a salute to a more glorious future, while keeping close to heart its history, its heroes and the great men and events that have shaped it to be what it is today. It will be iconic, dazzlingly fresh and unforgettable, a beacon both to tourists from all over and to the advances of multimedia technology.
Tur Dearg will stand 30 feet high, and will not have the traditional square/angular dentate crenellations that mark so many of Eire’s castles. Instead it will be crowned with avant-garde rounded//curvilinear forms, much like those of the sea anemone, and more akin to the flowing strength and power of the internet, of computer technology, shadowing the profile and power of Ireland’s fabled round towers. It will be made of durable stainless steel painted a deep crimson with what is usually used to protect surfaces of airplanes and ocean-going vessels. It will rise like a giant, spotted red toadstool in the fairy ring of the Marketplace. Emblazoned on its skin will be past and present symbols of Armagh, of Ireland, of Navan, of the Future. Its multimedia opponent will broadcast, on a very large round screen, both TV content, news, concerts, movies, football games and even mark time or show ads for income for the district, or even create a rave party for the youth.
It will be a product of artist and community interaction, and will memorialize what the community believes must be recorded, that which must be given that rare vantage point to oversee what Ireland now is and what it can still be in the future. The community will decide on the content of the new media components (screen/video/sound/marking time), the symbols on the pedestal as well as the inscribed names of people, places and events that makes Armagh what it is.
Truly, a modern tower with Armagh’s history in its heart and its technological future in mind.
I am truly looking forward to making this fairy tale come true.
Like many boys, I grew up on kings and queens, knights and castles. There is always a horse to ride, a dragon to slay, a princess to save from the evil baron, and yes, there is always the magic of the druids and the sorcerers. Despite everything that Ireland is now, despite my previous visits to its green countryside, despite one of the highest growth rates in EU and despite its burgeoning IT industry, Ireland will always be, to me, a land of magical enchantment.
In my mind, this myth-soaked country has castles with towers that overlook the historical marketplaces. I will propose to build this tower, albeit one that ushers in Ireland’s great strides in today’s world, one that marks the incredible depths of its history, its myths and its culture in stride with modern Ireland, now victorious knight of Technology. It will still overlook a market square yet be of modern form, a salute to a more glorious future, while keeping close to heart its history, its heroes and the great men and events that have shaped it to be what it is today. It will be iconic, dazzlingly fresh and unforgettable, a beacon both to tourists from all over and to the advances of multimedia technology.
Tur Dearg will stand 30 feet high, and will not have the traditional square/angular dentate crenellations that mark so many of Eire’s castles. Instead it will be crowned with avant-garde rounded//curvilinear forms, much like those of the sea anemone, and more akin to the flowing strength and power of the internet, of computer technology, shadowing the profile and power of Ireland’s fabled round towers. It will be made of durable stainless steel painted a deep crimson with what is usually used to protect surfaces of airplanes and ocean-going vessels. It will rise like a giant, spotted red toadstool in the fairy ring of the Marketplace. Emblazoned on its skin will be past and present symbols of Armagh, of Ireland, of Navan, of the Future. Its multimedia opponent will broadcast, on a very large round screen, both TV content, news, concerts, movies, football games and even mark time or show ads for income for the district, or even create a rave party for the youth.
It will be a product of artist and community interaction, and will memorialize what the community believes must be recorded, that which must be given that rare vantage point to oversee what Ireland now is and what it can still be in the future. The community will decide on the content of the new media components (screen/video/sound/marking time), the symbols on the pedestal as well as the inscribed names of people, places and events that makes Armagh what it is.
Truly, a modern tower with Armagh’s history in its heart and its technological future in mind.
I am truly looking forward to making this fairy tale come true.