This steel sculpture symbolises the ideal for the cultural integration of the people of Ireland. It’s composed of four branches growing off a central stem, symbolising the flowering of hope and peace. (Sculptor: Richard Enda King 1990). Modern-day Ireland only has four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster, and Connaught, but Meath (together with Westmeath) was once considered one of the five provinces of Ireland!
Looking around at the surrounding landscape, you will notice that though you are in Navan town by a busy road, biodiversity occurs throughout the town! When viewed from above, Navan appears quite wooded compared to other Irish towns of a similar size. Trees are nature's own sculptures: they all have different forms, bark textures, leaves, and colours.
A grove of lime trees has been planted near the sculpture, creating a cathedral of bright green foliage. There is also a band of old woodland to the west, and there is some riverside woodland to the east, across the Boyne. Long-established woodlands (marked on maps from the early 1800s) are a finite resource in Ireland.
Listen: Take a trip to these woodlands for a dawn chorus. One of the first birds you will hear is the one of Ireland's most celebrated songsters: the Blackbird. Do you know why they are the first to start singing? Answer: It’s because they have such big eyes! They can see better in the low light of the dawn.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Planting new trees is great, but nothing can beat the biodiversity of our old woodlands. Learn about your local woodlands, the wildlife they support, and spread the message! Ask your local councilors what they are doing to help protect our old native trees.