New art installation of giant colouring page in St Laserian’s Cathedral

“IT’S essentially a giant colouring page,” Dean Máirt Hanley said about an art installation at St Laserian’s cathedral in Old Leighlin.

The mural was designed by Ballon artist Hannah Murphy and visitors to the cathedral this summer can colour in part of the work if they like. The work features the words of St Julian of Norwich, a 14th century woman who had visions and was said to be able to cure people of certain ailments after she almost died of the plague.

Dean Hanley, who until last year served the Baltinglass Group of Parishes, said that he was inspired to commission the work after learning about St Laserian’s history as a place of healing.

“One of the things I keep hearing since my arrival here is stories of cures that existed in the parish going back generations, which families believe had originally come from monks,” dean Hanley said.

The artwork says: ‘All will be well and all manner of things will be well,’ which is one of St Julian of Norwich’s most famous sayings. Around the quote, Hannah has included different motifs relating to Julian’s life story, like hazelnuts, which relate to a vision that she had where God placed an object the size of a hazelnut in her palm.

The cathedral has placed pens and paint pots near the artwork so that visitors can add to the piece.

“I conceived of it as a sort of outreach to children and young people because sometimes we have families coming to the cathedral and sometimes it’s a bit difficult for children to engage with history. So, I thought that this artwork may be a good way of getting younger people to interact with the place rather than just seeing a big pile of old stones,” explained dean Hanley.

During the summer, the cathedral is open to the public from Thursday to Sunday and there are A4 smaller versions of the artwork which people are welcome to take home.

The cathedral was built shortly before the year 1200, though it was added to over the years, with the tower built around 1500. It is Co Carlow’s oldest working building and the site that the cathedral is on has been in use since the sixth century.