Crystal bowl designed by ex-Waterford Crystal
master engraver presented to U.S. President Obama by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD
It was a proud moment
in Waterford’s esteemed history of glass
manufacturing as, this year, the traditional bowl of shamrock presented to the US President on St. Patrick’s Day originated in
the Crystal County.
Sean Egan of
Sean Egan Art Glass had the great honour of designing and crafting the stunning
piece, entitled the “Gathering Bowl”, which was presented to Barack Obama by An
Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD on Tuesday, March 19th, following the
traditional St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
The first
presentation of a bowl of shamrock to a U.S. President took place in 1953, when
President Eisenhower accepted the gift from Ambassador Hearne. The first
Taoiseach to present shamrock rather than the Ambassador was John A. Costello
in 1956. The next Taoiseach was Jack Lynch in 1971, and subsequently the gift
of shamrock was invariably from the Taoiseach-in-office to the President of the
United States.
Following his
redundancy from Waterford Crystal in 2009, Sean established Sean Egan Art Glass
and is now based in the Kite Design Studio in the heart of Waterford’s Viking Triangle. A former master engraver with almost 40 years
experience, Sean has created some memorable pieces and in particular is
renowned for his 9/11 Twin Towers commemorative sculptures, which were
presented to former US Ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney.
In the world of
show biz, Sean was commissioned to create a piece honouring the Monty Python
member Graham Chapman who died in 1989.
The Monty Python film “A Liar’s Autobiography” was based on the memoirs
of the late Python and the film’s promotional poster was replicated in perfect detail
on a flat glass piece.
Several months
ago, Sean was contacted by the Department of the Taoiseach and asked to submit
some designs for the “shamrock bowl”.
Utilising his keen eye for detail and creative flair, Sean’s outline
mainly depicts The Gathering and features a famine ship, an interweaved Celtic
knot and two harps surrounded by engraved shamrock.
According to
Sean, it was a labour of love. “When I
got the call from the Taoiseach’s office I was absolutely delighted! Who could have ever imagined that this time
four years ago I was on the dole and today my work is being presented to the
President of the United
States?”
“I wanted the
bowl to represent all that is good about Ireland. We have a wonderful and warm tapestry of
culture, music, art and language. The
tall ship is returning to our shore as part of The Gathering festivities while
the harps represent our rich musical tradition. The Celtic knot is
representative of the timeless nature of our spirit, with no beginning and no end
and the engraved shamrocks are a symbol of the Irish diaspora.”
Far from resting
on his laurels, Sean is in negotiations with Colonel Jim Tierney of the U.S.
Army and is finalising plans for a new project that could see his work
displayed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum which is due to open at Ground Zero in
September 2014. The piece will be a
tribute to the Fighting Irish 69th Regiment, which was one of the
first responders to the Twin
Towers attacks, losing
two of its personnel.
Sean added “I
plan to keep creating pieces that are indicative of the times we live in, that
symbolise courage, bravery and overcoming adversity. There are so many compelling stories to be
told and my way of telling them is through the art of glass.”
For further
information about Sean Egan Art Glass and further details about his many
exciting projects visit www.seaneganartglass.com
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