The pride of the parish

A new mural in Crosskeys beautifully ties together the history and geography of the parish of Denn.

The frequent downpours of the last few weeks had delayed Colette Kearney’s best efforts to finish the large scale artwork at the gable wall leading to Denn Resource Centre. Regardless, only a few extra elements had yet to be added and the quality of the work was clear last Friday when the Celt visited. The mural maps out the parish, with the individual townlands included, embellished with local landmarks from megalithic stones through to the GAA club and even the Tropicana Nite Club. Recreations of old photographs further steep the work in nostalgia.

That all this comes together so coherently is testament to Colette’s experience as a mural artist and skilled hand.

“I love the lay out of the townlands,” begins Colette. “It’s interesting the way it shoots up at the left, so it was really challenging to imagine how it would fit in and then to work the imagery around it.”

Committee member John Brady is thrilled by the results.

“It’s a fantastic job,” enthuses John. “We didn’t realise it would be so fantastic until we see it now on the wall. The work and the thought she’s put into it is unbelievable.

“Every one of the townlands is in their exact space, it just brings up the whole area of Denn and the village here in Crosskeys.

“When it’s finished here it will be a sight to be seen!”

A keen eye may spot that some of the townlands depicted as part of Denn are actually located in Crosserlough and Castlerahan.

“This is an old map of Denn,” explains Colette, “so some of the townlands are no longer part of the parish - I think that’s a separate project in itself to talk about the townlands of Denn.”

To distinguish between the current parish and the old parish, she has included a subtle wine coloured border.

Having secured funding for the artwork, Denn Development Committee recruited Colette to undertake it. This time last year a meeting was held to canvass the community on what they would like to see portrayed.

“It was great to get feedback from people on what they would like to see because they are the people who are going to be looking at it every day,” says the Mountnugent native.

A key aspect was the area’s rich history such as the megalithic tombs at Banaho Hill in the townland of Banagher, an ancient food vessel which is now in the national museum, the parish’s high point of Slieve Glah, and the famous Black Pig’s Dyke part of which can still be seen on Ardkill Mountain.

“They reckon it’s the best preserved remains of the Black Pigs Dyke,” says Colette.

As the wall on which the mural is painted is the site of Denn’s former creamery, they were eager to include this part of Crosskeys’ social history. When the creamery closed in the early 1990s, Denn Development purchased it and built the existing trio of apartments.

“Tom Smith brought along this photograph,” recalls Colette. “That’s his father Andy Smith bringing the creamery can, and that’s Terry Brady.”

Colette was grateful to local man Gay McCaul, for bringing her around the ancient sites and also providing an old photo of local boys (Maguires)with the village behind, which forms a central part of the mural.

Colette agrees that the mural is a “major conversation starter”, especially for the children using the playschool and afterschool based in the resource centre.

“It’s not a piece of work to look at and say ‘Oh that looks pretty’. It’s very much about them going, ‘There’s my townland and your townland is there’. It’s about the people who live here.”

John was eager to express thanks to the sponsors of the project, the Creative Ireland, Creative Cavan and Cavan County Council.