‘Man with the Stone’ back home in a roundabout sort of way...

The sculpture of a man carrying a boulder, which has been missing from Navan for the past eight months, is to take up position in a new location to the south east of the junction of the Kells Road and the new LDR four.

"On the Great Wide Open" had been located on the roundabout at that junction for 13 years, but was removed last February when work began to replace the roundabout with a signalised junction.

At a meeting of Navan Municipal Council last week councillors were told that the sculpture which was commissioned to commemorate all those who worked in mining in Navan and those who lost their lives, would be relocated to a landscaped area to the south east of the signalised junction.

Part of the planning application for the new LDR4 and junction required relocated the sculpture be moved to a suitable location.

Councillors were told the proposed location was the most suitable location in that the statue will be facing Tara mines, it is close to its original location and is relatively free of underground services.

The sculpture will be cleaned and brought back to its orignal condition and will be surrounded by new limestone wall. A new plaque will be placed to the left and new uplighters will be installed to light up the piece at nighttime.

Cllr Edde Fennessy said representatives of the miners want a new statue in a different location, but that was a seperate issue. "It looks very well with a nice limestone wall around it.

Director of Services, Martin Murray, said it would be surrounded by architectural design and will be lit. It will have more prominence and will reflect the ethos of what if was initially intended for."

Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said the proposal looked fantastic. "I think the location is a better one."

The 'On the Great Wide Open' is a 3.2m stone sculpture created by Patrick Barry. It pays tribute to all of the people who dedicated their lives to the mining industry in Navan.

Unveiled on 18th May 2012, by then Mayor, Cllr Anton McCabe, the sculpture represents the quarrying of stone and its movement from one historic location to another. Three tonnes of limestone came from Kilkenny for the sculpture, whilst zinc extracted locally from Tara Mines was used for the boulder being carried by the man.