Famous sculpture gets new lease on life

The unveiling of a newly restored sculpture by one of Ireland’s most renowned modern artists took place in Cork city this week.

Located in Blackrock looking out over the Lee, ‘Off Shore’, by the late Irish sculptor John Burke, was originally commissioned in 1985 as part of the Cork 800 programme which marked the 800th anniversary of the city’s charter in 1185.

The restored piece was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy alongside his father, former lord mayor John Dennehy (1983–84), who played a central role in the original Cork 800 programme.

Unveiling the renewed artwork, the Lord Mayor highlighted the personal resonance of the occasion.

He said: “I am delighted to unveil this restored John Burke sculpture, originally commissioned to mark the Cork 800 celebrations.

“It is especially meaningful to do so alongside my father who was a driving force behind those historic celebrations,” added the Lord Mayor.

John Burke (1946–2006) was a pioneering figure in modern Irish sculpture and instrumental in defining sculptural practice in Ireland during the 1970s. A graduate of the Crawford School of Art in Cork city, and later the Royal Academy in London, he became known for his bold abstract compositions in welded steel.

As a lecturer at the Crawford, he influenced a generation of prominent Irish artists and his teaching is often credited with creating a kind of renaissance in the well-established tradition of sculpture in Cork.