Patrick Kavanagh Statue

Perfect location for one of our greatest writers to sit and watch the bicycles go by in twos and threes

The Irish Poet, Patrick Kavanagh, wrote «O commemorate me where there is water,
canal water preferably, so stilly, greeny at the heart of summer. Brother commemorate me thus beautifully.» Remember these words when you pass the statue of Mr. Kavanagh gazing with such contentment and so serenely at the canal…
Whenever I walk along the canal and pass his statue, an icon of Dublin, it prompts me to take in my surroundings and pause for a bit. The canal really is beautiful at the heart of summer. Take it in on a bench as Mr. Kavanagh still does every day, rain or shine.

If only this man could talk. I’m sure he would have some great stories to tell of all the different people that pass him on a daily basis as he sits still on the bench overlooking the canal. I’ve spent many quiet moments next to his friendly face, caught up in my own thoughts, with a coffee in hand, enjoying my smokes. Next time you need to spill your heart, grab a seat. He might not give you the advice you need, but he sure will listen.

This life size sculpture of one of Ireland’s most celebrated poets is located on the bank of the Grand Canal Dublin. It is inspired by his poem ‘Lines written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin’ which reads, ‘O commemorate me where there is water, canal water preferably, so stilly greeny at the heart of summer. Brother commemorate me thus beautifully’…and indeed he was, in the exact fashion he requested.
In 1954 Kavanagh was diagnosed with lung cancer and was admitted to hospital where he had a lung removed. It was while recovering from this operation by relaxing on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin that Kavanagh rediscovered his poetic vision. He began to appreciate nature and his surroundings and took his inspiration from this for much of his later poetry, and a new phase of poetry followed. His love of nature was rekindled following this. He said «As a poet I was born in or about 1955, the place of my birth being the banks of the Grand Canal». After having been near death he could look at life and nature with new found wonder. Nature is glorified in a pantheistic manner in the poetry written from then on. Kavanagh had come full circle and was at peace with himself and the world.
This internal ‘peace’ that Kavanagh had arrived at is represented through the stance the statue adopts. Kavanagh’s work reached universality through the commonplace and this statue could not illustrate that more beautifully. He has taken off his hat and nonchalantly positioned it beside him — the casual disposition of the situation does not call for anything more ceremonial. He sits, crossed legged, staring into the water mulling over the words to a new poem in his head. The free flow of thought and boundless artistic meditation that this serene setting afforded him made him come to recognize the true value of existing within a natural setting. His love and admiration for nature ‘on the whole’ grew from there.
The statue is befittingly of the same shade of marine jade as the ‘green waters of the canal’ that Kavanagh alludes to in his poetry. I am particularly fond of this aquatic colouring — aesthetically it differentiates this statue from other ashen ones in the surrounding area, emblematically it creates a correlation between this statue and Kavanagh’s written work, and metaphorically it mirrors the colour of the actual, tangible water that it sits beside in the present day. This effigy is therefore doused in symbolism and deep meaning all harping back to Kavanagh’s legacy and a lovely place to sit to mull over your own issues. Maybe the big guy could even help inspire a resolution.

Percy French was an Irish songwriter and entertainer in the late 19^th century. In his memory there is a bench along the Grand Canal, with a few of his lines engraved in it. The bench is just a short walk up from Baggot Street Bridge and because there is no big sign on it, it is often overlooked. Admittedly, Percy French is maybe a bit of an obscure name as well. Like it says on the bench in his own words:
’ Remember me is all I ask,
and yet
if the remembrance prove a task,
forget’.
Still, it is very close to the Patrick Kavanagh statue and absolutely worth a look.

They say that other cities have statues of Generals and Kings whereas Dublin has statues of Poets and Musicians. This is perhaps one of Dublin’s nicest ideologies and so to this, the second of two monuments to Patrick Kavanagh on the stretch of Canal between Eustace Street Bridge and Baggot Street Bridge.
This, the more eye-​catching of the two monuments, was presented to Dublin as part of our stint at being European City of Culture and was auspiciously unveiled by probably our favourite recent President (correctly: Uachatarán), Mary Robinson.
John Coll’s life-​size bronze has been on the Canal since 1991. The statue is somewhat figurative, the poet having tremendous mit-​like hands for example, and is depicted sporting his shoes typically untied with a book and newspaper stuffed in his jacket pocket.
There’s an empty spot beside him so if you’re on your own and you want to freak out the squares you could chat to him over lunch.

«O commerate me where there is water», wrote legendary writer Patrick Kavanagh (1904 – 67), and this statue is the result. It’s one of the post peaceful spots in Dublin — leafy, quiet, right next to the still waters of the Grand Canal. A place to contemplate. Dubs, by the way, have another commeration for Kavanagh: ‘the crank on the bank’.