A creative gem and master of upcycling

By Bernie Ní Fhlathartha
EUGENE Finnegan is reluctant to describe himself as an artist, or a sculptor or in any way that suggests he is creative. Yet when he talks about his work, it is with passion and there's little doubt that the man is definitely a creator.

The Clonberne man can say what he likes but his larger than life sculptures made from upcycled materials are a stroke of genius.
There's the large owl in a field near Cloonmore bridge on the Galway side of Tuam, there're the two large bulls and the giant spider on the grounds of Claregalway Castle, which for a while housed a dragon peeping out of one of the turrets, and there's any number of theatre sets in storage created by him.
He says himself that there's bits of his work all over the place and admits getting a kick out of them being seen by so many people.
“There's work by artists in exhibitions only being seen by a select few and my stuff is seen by thousands every day as they pass by in cars,” he says with a gleam in his eye.
Why doesn't he sell his work then? He looks horrified at the idea, as if he were being asked to sell his soul.

Read the full feature in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald