Commemorative Garden Concept/Layout
Plans for this very special commemorative garden have progressed substantially and we now include here on the website, the general concept underlying the project, general details as to how we plan its development, and a look at a rough working model of how the garden will be presented.
"Circle of Life" - A Garden of Commemoration & Thanksgiving
Objective:
The purpose of this project “Circle of Life”, the first national garden of its kind, will be to commemorate and give thanks for the lives and generosity of spirit of all organ and tissue donors.
This garden will be a place of beauty, sanctuary and evocation and will, while extending a universal welcome, have particular resonance with recipients and the families, friends and loved ones of organ donors. It will be located in a beautiful public park on the seafront in Salthill, overlooking Galway Bay and the stone formations of the renowned Burren in the distance.
“Circle of Life” garden will play an important role in awareness promotion, and provide a unifying focus through which the aims and aspirations of the organ donation community generally can better be realised. It may also provide inspiration for similar ventures further afield with inference for the advancement of medicine and humanitarian endeavour.
Theme:
The theme of the garden will relate to the meaning and purpose of our lives as manifest in the connectivity and interdependence of humanity and the higher expression of our being through love and compassion. The spirit of giving that defined the lives of donors is a fulfilment of this purpose, and will forever be their enduring legacy. The garden will endeavour to give expression to this spirit, and the total experience engendered in its mix of imagery, symbolism and sentiment, will evoke in the visitor a sense of life’s higher purpose and the inherent beauty and nobility of mankind.
Design:
The overall garden design will be that of a central stone sculpture area, surrounded by rich sensual vegetation set out in the overall form of a flower. It will encompass a series of concentric, interconnected walkways along which the visitor will be invited to travel. The structures, images, symbolism and sentiments used throughout the garden will draw inspiration from Irish civilisation, history, poetry, philosophy and the classical arts, all interwoven together in a rich tapestry to convey a sense of journeying, an allegorical reflection of life’s greater journey. To enhance this experience, the different layers of the garden will appeal to different dimensions of our being: the outer - to the physical and intellectual; the middle - to feelings and emotions; the inner core having a spiritually transcendental and mystical communication.
Using the medium of vegetation and weathered limestone, the garden will comprise a series of interesting and evocative features including –
1 The symbolic representation of donors from the 32 counties of Ireland by the use of stones from iconic sites of Irish civilisation and history built into a low retaining wall surrounding the garden. A stone remembering non national organ donors will also be included in this wall, while a separate stone to Irish people beyond our shores who became donors will be positioned on a raised paved area symbolically outside, but connected to, and over looking the garden. This area will also include a sculpted stone seat where visitors may sit and reflect.
2 A series of 5 sensuously rich vegetative petal formations between any of which access can be gained to the inner sculpture section. An inspirational philosophy will be carved at each point of access.
3 A series of stone seats in the middle walkway will carry inscriptions of poetry reflecting emotive sentiments that are both comforting and inspiring.
4 A series of 5 tall standing stones on which will be carved different images of hands, symbolising outreach and connectivity, together with inscriptions depicting the stages of life’s journey. This will form the interface between the physical exterior and the spiritual centre of the garden. The name of the project “Circle of Life” derives from this arrangement.
5 A spiral pathway to the centre will commence with a water feature to evoke a sense of peace and meditation.
6 The centre piece, an abstract stone symbolising light and spirituality will be carved from a bright stone, hopefully sourced from the quarry at the ancient monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise from which its famous high crosses were originally carved. This stone titled “stone of oneness”, will be part of a sculpture assemblage that will include two embracing figures representing the duality of life and its divine expression in unity. It is planned that these figures will be carved respectively from the snow white marble of Dunlewey in Donegal and the black basalt of the Giants Causeway in Antrim.
7 The title stone will be positioned on the outer walkway between the two primary entrances
8 A touchstone will be located on the access pathway to the garden.
9 The garden itself will be visually assimilated into the broader park context by the use of contoured, enfolding landscaped mounds which will simultaneously magnify its scale and create a sense of sanctuary and enclosure.
Timeline:
The project will involve 2 phases i.e:
(a) Civil engineering and ground works
(b) Construction and planting
Subject to consultation etc. we have provisionally planned to commence physical construction in late April/May 2011. This choice was influenced by:
(a) need for planning, preparation, consultation, financing etc.
(b) daylight hours and the most predictable weather period of the year.
Financing:
All financing for the garden will be channeled through Strange Boat Donor Foundation and will be sourced independently through sponsorship, grant aid and fundraising.
Promoters:
This project is being instigated and promoted by Strange Boat Donor Foundation which was set up by Denis & Martina Goggin in memory of their son Éamonn who became an organ donor following a fatal road crash in 2006. The aim of the foundation is to give comfort and support to those affected by issues relating to organ donation, and also, through its diverse projects, to help promote this very worthwhile cause.
Strange Boat Donor Foundation which is currently being processed for charitable status, has seven trustees/directors all chosen for their individual contribution to the development of the project, and represent the world of business, media and the arts.
Conclusion:
Since it was proposed, the idea for a commemorative garden has received enthusiastic and widespread support from individuals and groups, and from the civic authorities in Galway whose goodwill is essential to its advancement. The project is also receiving the full backing and cooperation of the Organ Procurement Service and Transplant Coordinators at Beaumont Hospital, the Irish Donor Network and the Irish Kidney Association, the three official groups representing the world of organ donation in Ireland.
This support, together with the intrinsic merits of the project itself and its wonderful location and setting, contribute to the potential of creating a beautiful and enduring piece of living art that can benefit the lives of many, many people, and will be a source of continuing pride to all Irish people wherever they live To realise this potential will require the skills, energies and efforts of a wide group of people. We believe, however, that the more it derives from a spirit of cooperation, community and sense of shared ownership, the more successful it ultimately will be.
Current photograph of Salthill Park, Galway where garden will be located
Email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Postal address: Bothúna, Spiddal, Co. Galway
In the Donor Families pages, Patsy Curtis, whose daughter was an organ donor following a motor accident in South Africa, speaks of the great comfort and peace she has got from knowing that her daughter, Paula, is among those remembered in a memorial garden established in the suburbs of Johannesburg.
