If you happened to be at Barrington’s Pier on the banks of the river Shannon in Limerick on August 18, 2022, you would have witnessed the unveiling of a most unusual piece of artwork, entitled “Giants of Men”. The website of “Concern Worldwide” calls it a “public bench and sculpture”, yet I think that the word “sculpture” may evoke images of something solid, made from marble or bronze or wood. The only reason I hesitate in using the word “sculpture” is that it doesn’t do justice to the creativity of the piece. Even though I don’t even rank as even a novice in the world of artwork, this one strikes me as particularly intriguing: both the shapes of the figures depicted and the materials used.
The piece represents two human figures, in very different poses: one is sitting meditavely, clearly in a thinking posture, reminiscent of Rodin’s “The Thinker”. The other is in a most active posture, pushing against a wall. The pairing is almost an echo of the gospel sisters, Mary and Martha. The former sat at the Lord’s feet listening to his message, while the latter was busy in the kitchen preparing the necessities for looking after the guests. And while Martha is mildly chided by Jesus for her busyness (and thus neglecting the importance of listening to his word), her role as hostess is surely necessary, because though we may not live on bread alone, without it we would not survive.
The Barrington’s Pier artwork depicts two brothers from my own parish in Limerick, Aengus & Jack Finucane. Both were members of the Spiritans (formerly known as The Holy Ghost fathers), and both had laboured in the 1960s in Nigeria, during what were very turbulent times there. Both were connected with the beginnings of Concern, and, indeed, political unrest and ensuing famine brought out the best in both brothers: while Jack was the thinker, coming up with solutions to solve one problem after another, it was Aengus who was the action-man; apparently nothing could stop him, hence his posture in the artwork of striving against a solid wall (the “wall” of poverty, hunger and injustice): he would overcome all odds; while Jack is depicted in a more meditative posture. Through their combined energies, and coordinating with the beginnings of the charity “Concern”, they were regularly shipping to Biafra thousands of tons of much-needed goods, thus helping many numerous impoverished people.
From what I have read, Jack was definitely a down-to-earth man. Noting that the early generations of Holy Ghost missionaries in Africa had suffered severe losses due to their inability to adapt to austere conditions in Africa, he said that “the first essential of our apostolate is to be alive; the first essential of our work is for us to be healthy”. To try to adapt to a very different and demanding culture and climate was one thing; to throw caution to the wind and neglect one’s health, thereby weakening the very presence of the missionaries, was another.
The combination of materials used in the production of the sculpture is called gabion (from the Italian word for “cage”), whereby various sized stones are placed into a stainless steel metal frame. The impression is one of a rough-and-ready, all set for action piece: you can almost sense the effort of Fr. Aengus as he strives against the intransigence of the obstacle he faces (the wall); but one can also almost sense the flow of thought in the mind of Fr. Jack, as he ponders another difficulty to be faced and solved.
Among the figures of the two brothers lies a bench; this is in the shape of the flowing river Shannon. To quote from the Concern Worldwide website:
“The bench will not only provide a resting place for the people of Limerick, overlooking the Shannon, but will also mark the contribution which two proud Limerick brothers made to the city’s rich legacy”.
Besides the two figures and the meandering river-shaped bench, there is an inscription, which I think is wonderfully worded. It says: Aengus Finucane (1932-2009) and Jack Finucane (1937-2017). Humanitarians and proud Limerick men. Aengus and Jack stand for the best of who we are as a nation, embodying and promoting a spirit of humanity, dignity and equality. Through their lifelong commitment to Concern Worldwide, they challenged the inevitability of poverty in defiance of accepted thinking. Through their courage, drive and leadership, they saved and transformed the lives of millions of people. This memorial was created with the support of family, friends and colleagues. DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, AS WELL AS YOU CAN, FOR AS MANY AS YOU CAN, FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN.
The memorial was unveiled by the mayor of Limerick and relatives of the Finucane brothers; also present were founding members of Concern.