Carnac Upper Leeson Street

The granite sculpture sited on the traffic island at Upper Leeson Street is surprisingly inconspicuous. ‘Carnac’ appears to have been cleverly positioned with a great deal of care and subtlety. It is aligned on a North/South axis facing 8 degrees (approximately) East of South. This points directly to the mecca of Neolithic standing stones on Brittany’s Atlantic coast known as Carnac.

Sculpted in 1979 by Robert (Bob) Mulcahy. The sculpture emerged after the artist took part in an Irish Arts Council, Sculpture Summer School. Mulcahy was one of a number of Irish sculptors participating, and each was provided with a piece of stone on which to carve a work of their own while, at the same time, participating in the production of a group piece which was designed by a Japanese American sculptor, Minoru Niizuma (1930 - 1998), who came to Ireland to act as resident artist at the School and who talked daily with the other sculptors as they developed their own work. Mulcahy's Carnac was purchased by the Upper Leeson Street Area Residents' Association in 1979 with assistance from the Arts Council.