200 foot sand portrait of Grace O'Malley set to display on Mayo island
Created by renowned environmental artist Sean Corcoran, the striking sand installation will only remain visible for up to two hours before being reclaimed by the Atlantic Ocean
A giant sand portrait of legendary pirate queen Grace O’Malley will emerge on Achill Island’s Silver Strand, Dugort beach, later this month as part of a unique tribute marking the first-ever Grace O’Malley Festival in Mayo.
The enormous artwork, measuring more than 200 feet across, will appear at low tide at 4 pm on Saturday, May 23, on Silver Strand, Dugort beach.
Created by renowned environmental artist Sean Corcoran, the striking sand installation will only remain visible for up to two hours before being reclaimed by the Atlantic Ocean.
The artist, who is known for his large-scale beach artworks, said the piece imagines Grace O’Malley returning to her West of Ireland homeland for the first time in more than 400 years. With no known picture of the 16th-century warrior woman who ‘knew no bounds’, Corcoran had to use his imagination and contemporary accounts to create a likeness.