A Waterford chainsaw sculptor has created a 25-foot Norman sculpture from a fallen tree that once stood in the grounds of the Brandon House Hotel in New Ross.
John Hayes created the sculpture which depicts William Marshall, the first Earl of Pembroke and founder of New Ross, standing in a longboat.
The project took over a year to complete and now sits among the trees of the Brandon House Hotel with a mast on the longboat donated by the Dunbrody Famine ship.
John Hayes collaborated with Pat Quinn from the Brandon House Hotel.
Talking to Beat he said: “They had this tree, they knew it had a huge affiliation with the area and we wanted to give it a new life, so we just kept pushing the boundaries to see if we could make a longboat with the tree. We used every single piece of the tree… it's the first time that it has been done in the world."
He continued: "The really enjoyable part was when you build a project you can always see the potential of where it could go but sometimes the budget doesn’t allow it but the electricians, the groundsmen all looked to help.”
John left school at 13 and became a carpenter and also created sets for theatre groups in Waterford before he turned his hand to chainsaw sculpting. He has represented Ireland in world championships and is a contestant on the TV show A Cut Above on the Discovery Channel.
John hayes talks to Orla on the Sunday Grill this weekend from 10 am
