Richmond Barracks

A Walk shortlisted for an IDI 2020 award

We’re excited to share that Joanne Byrne, designer of A Walk, the garden installation at Richmond Barracks has been shortlisted for the 2020 IDI Irish Design Awards in the Structure and Spaces category.


There were 470 entries this year, spanning design projects from the worlds of fashion and textiles, visual communications, digital, and more. The judges whittled that down to a shortlist of just 150 of the best examples of design in the country, with the winner due to be announced later this month.


Making A Walk

Commissioned by Dublin City Council, this work was a true collaboration and made possible with the support of Dublin City Public Art Officer Ruairí Ó Cuív, Jackie O’Reilly, Catherine Neville, Victoria Kearney and Éadaoin Ní Chléirigh. It was designed by the artist Joanne Byrne, and fabricated from corten steel by AD Design.


A Walk commemorates a short but significant journey in Irish history, which took place in Richmond Barracks.


In 1916, over 3,000 suspected rebels were arrested and held in the gymnasium of Richmond Barracks. The leaders and senior figures were identified and a  total of 186 men and one woman (Countess Markievicz) were called to court-martial trials, and so walked from the gymnasium to the Officer’s Block to discover their fate.


In making the piece, Byrne was inspired by an entry Markievicz made in her diary in her early twenties, which read “Nature should provide me with something to live for, something to die for”.


Byrne recalls, “I felt its sentiment was very personal yet universal in a way that could convey the motivations, hopes and fears of all those who walked to their court-martial.”


Well done to Joanne Byrne, AD Design, and all involved with the project for making it to the shortlist of the IDI Irish Design Awards this year, we look forward to the announcement of the winners the week of October 19th.


You can view all of the shortlisted projects here.

Posted 08 Deireadh Fómhair 2020
Tagged with: News