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This limestone statue of Mary, the Mother of God, standing 123cm high, is in Cill Mhuire church, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The sculptor was Henry Flanagan op.
He was born in Drumcondra, Dublin in 1918 and christened Patrick Joseph. He attended the Christian Brothers’ School in North Richmond Street before entering the Dominican Order in 1936. His only sister, Maureen, also entered the Dominicans and now lives at 204 Griffith Ave. Brother Henry’s artistic training was haphazard. Other than occasional summer courses and attendance at the College of Art for Life Drawing he was virtually self-taught. His style was traditional, his technique superb. There is a mark of dignified sincerity and serenity in all that he made, for he made it not for his own fame or glory but for the glory of God.
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The Blessed Virgin Mary By Henry Flanagan OP |
Dressed in old clothes, a sculptor’s apron hanging from his neck and a woolly cap on his head, he looked a big man, tall, muscular, with a jovial face – well worn in later years – and humour in his eyes. His living was that of a Dominican Friar, sculpting his spare-time activity. He also loved music, played the organ with great verve, conducting the school choirs, produced operas and even composed music. He taught art to the boys of Newbridge College, encouraged the talented, tolerating all. When he could, he relaxed with chisel and mallet, either in the large school studio or in an old, unheated and uncomfortable shed, converting wood, stone, concrete or clay into stunning images, some of secular but mostly of religious subjects. Meeting deadlines for commissions often meant working with creaking bones and aching back into the small hours of the morning, cold and alone. How he achieved such an output in the limited time at his disposal, speaks of an exceptional self-discipline and a conviction that he was fulfilling his Dominican vocation as a preacher. “I hope”, he said, “when I die that my statues will continue to preach”.
The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is unique and eloquent – a sermon in itself. The enveloping cloak, bearing the mark of the chisel, falls to the ground in a graceful movement. Unadorned and free of all fussiness, it is eminently pleasing in its simplicity. Only the hands protrude in a gesture that seems to signify both acceptance and giving: Be it done unto me according to your word. She is the bountiful mother who continually intercedes for us with her Son. She is the Mediatrix of all graces.
Sr. Maureen MacMahon OP
BENEDICITE
All you works of the Lord, O bless the Lord
To him be glory and praise forever
And you, the days of our lives, O bless the Lord
And you, the brightness of these days, O bless the Lord
And you, the darkness of our nights, O bless the Lord
And you, our waking and sleeping dreams, O bless the Lord
And you, the mountain of our hope, O bless the Lord
And you, the valley of our fear, O bless the Lord
And you, the fountain of our giftedness, O bless the Lord
And you, the beauty of our humanity, O bless the Lord
And you, the springs of grace within us, O bless the Lord
And you, the friendship bonds between us, O bless the Lord
And you, the people young and old who listen to our teaching, O bless the Lord
And you, the people old and young who guide us, O bless the Lord
And you, the tears of our compassion, O bless the Lord
And you, the desire we have to heal the world, O bless the Lord
And you, our struggle with our sinfulness, O bless the Lord
And you, the Spirit that makes us free, O bless the Lord.
Sr. Maureen Flanagan OP
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Still Ruimte 
