Oliver Sheppard
Oliver Sheppard R.H.A. (1865-1941) has largely fallen out of public memory.
A distinguished, but not very prolific, sculptor and teacher at the College of Art, his best known work is undoubtedly the statue of Cuchullain, the mythical Irish ancient hero who continued to fight on against his enemies while tied, gravely wounded, to a tree. This is in the GPO in Dublin.
This work was not originally commissioned as a memorial to the Dublin 1916 Rising, indeed it dates from 1911/12, but the relevance of the theme of unyielding struggle, led to adoption for this purpose in 1936 and the work is now placed in the General Post Office in O'Connell Street in Dublin to commemorate the 1916 Rising. The GPO was the headquarters of the insurgents and was destroyed, as was much of O'Connell Street, in the fighting. Ironically, it had just been restored when burned out!
This work below, in plaster from a private collection, is typical of his rather lyrical art nouveau style with influences by Rodin.
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