Clare-based Irish Natural Stone (INStone) is hosting its first outdoor exhibition at Coole Park Nature Reserve in Gort – in an effort to propagate an interest in Ireland’s built heritage and to show how Irish limestone can be creatively transformed into works of art.

The exhibition, entitled INStone at Coole, is being delivered in partnership with the National Parks & Wildlife Service at Coole Park Nature Reserve, and is open to the public daily until Monday, September 30.

The month-long duration of the exhibition marked INStone’s first participation in National Heritage Week, as well as the Lady Gregory-Yeats Autumn Gathering, which takes place at Coole Park in September.

The exhibition, which is free of charge to view, will be located at The Haggard, behind the Coole Park Tearooms. Representatives from INStone will be on hand to discuss the pieces on display and to respond to questions.

INStone founder and director Frank McCormack said that the rationale for staging the exhibition was twofold.

“Firstly, we want to show the public, those living locally in Clare, Galway or Limerick and visitors from further afield, the craftsmanship that exists in Ireland to transform limestone into imaginative and amazing works of art,” he explained.

“Secondly, as a member of the Burren Ecotourism Network, we see it as an opportunity to promote the Burren as a premier internationally recognised sustainable tourism region, through showcasing what is happening at a creative level to sustain our heritage,” he added.

The pieces on display will be quite large, ranging in size from 1.7metres to 3.2 metres and will include the Burren Lion, Balance, the Circle of Foxes, and more.

“Each sculpture will display the beauty and perpetual nature of our indigenous material – stone. We are really looking forward to moving the sculptures, which are normally housed in our INStone studios in Boston/Tubber, to Coole Park. It will be a mammoth undertaking but a very worthwhile one,” said Frank.

Irish Natural Stone – or INStone – based in Boston, Tubber, Co. Clare, began in the 1990’s as a stone production and cutting facility, processing stone for use in construction, hard landscaping and interior design.

The company has expanded its capability greatly to now include built heritage conservation, the production of bespoke works of art and sculpture, and a stone conservation and stone carving/sculpture training and education academy.

Conservation projects delivered by the Company include the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York City, the restoration of the Four Courts in Dublin, St. Mel’s Cathedral in Longford, St. John’s Cathedral in Limerick, the O’Connell Monument in Ennis, the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation in Phoenix (USA) and Hope House in Bath (UK).

Artworks installed in various housing locations in Galway alone include Leana Mór and Lenabower at Cappagh Road; Slí na Craoibhe on the Clybaun Road and Caislean Rí in Athenry.

The INStone at Coole Exhibition – Presentation and Demonstration – officially opened at last Saturday, and the exhibition of works will run until the end of September.

Pictured: The lion sleeps…among the sculptures that will be on display in Coole Park Nature Reserve. Photo: Eamon Ward.