All our failures are, ultimately, our failures in love

Artist: Shane McGrath
Year: SOTG 2011
Materials: Maquette

The sun is warm yet the wind it cold. it's as if a child is rubbing his or her palms on your ears, the wind's roar filling your eardrums while the while the salty aroma of the ocean fills your nostrils, As you walk over the rise to the sea and look down to the rocky beach, you notice an elongated, black and shiny form lying motionless at the water's edge, its sharp snout pointing inland as if having just arrived. Wings, or perhaps fins, project outwards from its tail and the form lies still, waiting to be found. Only the ebbing tide will move it now. 'All our failures are, ultimately, failures in love', is a wooden, tarred canvas structure built in the tradition of boat building from the west coast of Ireland. Th Irish currachs have a history that dates back to before the time of Julius Caesar who wrote of sighting the unusual craft during his campaign of Britain. These lightweight boats are still proudly made today in areas such as Country Clare and the Ring of Kerry for fishing and leisure.