Irish president commissions 1916 sculpture

People's Acorn chosen for grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin.

A sculpture by Dublin artist Rachel Joynt has been chosen as the winning 1916 commemorative piece for the grounds of the president's residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, in the capital's Phoenix Park.

Joynt's sculpture People’s Acorn was selected following a competition launched by President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina inviting artists to create an art work to commemorate the 1916 rising which led to Ireland's independence.

The bronze sculpture will be two metres high and three metres long, and Joynt says the giant seed is a metaphor for the “cyclical journey of life from youth towards maturity.”

The completed work will host a time capsule containing the memories of older Irish citizens as well as the future aspirations of Irish children today.

14 artists competed for the project, which has a budget of €160,000 and is funded as part of the government's Ireland 2016 Commemorative Programme.

The sculpture will be installed in a mature woodland garden and will be unveiled in November 2017.