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Giant Fid is here

Posted Thursday, September 3, 2009

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Giant Fid

It's here at last - Moville's new landmark.

The Giant Fid was inaugurated just before noon on Wednesday morning at the old pier.

Minister

The Minsiter for New Brunswick in Canada (a Doherty) was there along with the Mayor of Donegal.

From Moville Senator Cecilia Keaveney was there as well as Marain McDonald who took a major part in thr project.

Sculptor

Locky Morris, the sculpor who created The Giant Fid, was there in attendance. He's the one with the light jacket and jeans the with the quiff of hair.

Also in attendance were pupils from the lcoal Scoil Eoughan.

In all, more than two hundred people turned up to see the event.

Quite Pleased

Although many people in Moville were sceptical about the project, and especially the cost in excess of 50 grand ("that's just what Ireland needs to spend money on now" said one), those present were quite pleased with the way it has turned out.

It looks better than the artist's impression that was previously released.

It is also thicker at the bottom than expected and less likely to become the butt of jokes about what it resembles.

New Landmark

It is also a new landmark for Moville and can be seen by boats coming up the lough.

A Fid, for those who don't know (which included the Mayor of Donegal), is a tool used in the making of fishing nets.

I think, by the size of it, this one could only be used for Moby Dick.

UnTreated

There were a few reservations that the wood hadn't been treated.

It seems that they expect the weather to 'treat' it.

However, locals were more sceptical.

Can't Be Vandalised

I had been told that it was very hard wood and couldn't be easily destroyed.

"It'll last hundreds of years" I was told. "It can't be vandalised".

However, the previous night, I had a close look at it and it didn't seem so hard that somone couldn't carve their name on it.

Vandalised

Indeed, the concrete at the bottom of it, that was holding it in place, had already been vandalised with people putting their initials and footprints in it before the concrete had dried.

I have to say that mine were there too (footprints, not initials) as I hadn't realised that the concrete was still wet till I tried to move my feet.

Fixed

However, it had all been fixed before the ceremony the next morning.

Other objections that local people had was that the old cobblestones had been removed when they concreted over the pier.

These had the indentations of the people who had emigrated to America and those who had fished from the pier accumulating for nearly two hundred years.

They were monuments to the immigrants in themselves.

Insets

It seems that some of those cobblestones were going to be used as insets near the Fid.

They had been piling up by the side of the pier for a while.

However, it seems that some locals had dumped them over the pier and the creators of the Fid couldn't get them out as the tide was too high.

So, one wonders how vandal free the Fid will be and how long it will last without treatment.

Carping

However, that is carping a bit.

More than two hundred of Moville's population of 1,465 turned up to see it at 11am on Wednesday morning in September.

I Like It

Do I like it myself?

I must confess I do.

OK, the money could have been spent better, but I think it came out of some arts grant - so that's Ireland's problem rather than Moville's.

Government Money

Little enough government money is spent on Moville so we might as well have it.

It's cost was more then the annual budget for the upkeep of The Green.

However, it was from a different budget and they aren't compting aginst each other for funds.

Enjoy It

It's there now, the money is paid and we might as well enjoy it.

As I say, it does look pretty good and is a new landmark for Moville.

Welcome to the Giant Fid!