This article is from page 24 of the 2007-04-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 24 JPG
TRAVELLER culture occupies pride of place locally and nationally this week thanks to projects undertaken at the St Joseph’s training centre.
The coppercraft group at the cen- tre have completed work on a copper vessel that will be used to hold the Easter vigil fire in the Ennis cathe- dral.
The three foot high vessel was a collaborative effort between men working at the centre and the Ennis diocese.
Fr Damian Nolan approached the centre six months ago with the idea of making a copper structure that could be utilised during the Easter oo KerselO eBoy
At first a competition was held to determine which group would take
the lead role on the project, though input was ongoing from all men tak- ing the coppercraft course at the cen- inden
The group’s foremost concern was to ensure the vessel was practical and safe. When those requirements were met, the group, aided by metalcraft instructor and teacher Brian Crossen, introduced a stylistic element to the process. The group also consulted with Fr Nolan throughout the proc- ess.
Mr Crossen explained, “Fr Dam- ian had approached us about making something for Easter. We wanted to make sure it did exactly what it was supposed to do, that it was safe and also that it looked good. There were about three or four different stages from design right through to com- pletion. Fr Damian has always been
very supportive of the centre and the lads really enjoyed making it”.
The centre also earned recogni- tion on a national stage when a three man group from the centre travelled to Cork last Thursday to take part in the 4th annual Cork lifelong learning festival.
Martin Maughan, Thomas Keenan and Peter Keenan gave a live dem- onstration of traditional copper craft at the Cork public museum as part of the week long festival.
Last year the centre donated seven copper items including buckets, pots and scuttles to the museum for a per- manent display.
It is the first time a permanent ex- hibition of Traveller culture has gone on display in a national museum. The Cork Traveller Women’s Network and the Cork public museum invited
the copper craft group to take part in the festival.
“It kind of grew legs after we do- nated the copper projects to the mu- seum. It was a pretty big event, there was a lot of craftsmen there. We set up in a gazebo and it worked out re- ally well. It was a great day. They were very impressed. They invited us back for next year, so we’ll see how ereLme x Olona