The Bird of the Golden Land- The Queen of Three Crowns'

• This sculpture is inspired by the Celtic mythological tale of the Queen of Three Crowns, but also seeks to express the dilemma of women, today, caught between 'two worlds'.
• The story is that of the beautiful Queen of the Golden Land, who could change into a bird and sing with a voice that enchanted all men. Each year, she perched on the window of the High King of Ireland, at Tara. But, her song finished, flew away, to the distant islands off the west coast of Ireland, fabled as Tir na n-0g, the land of the ever-young. Eventually, enchanted by this exquisite creature and determined to have her for his own, although unaware that the golden bird was a woman, the -King sent his three sons to capture her. After many trials and vicissitudes, traveling through the wild countryside, as they pursue this elusive bird, crossing rivers, mountains, islands and seas, they discover her abode. This is the fabled Golden Land of the West. Not realising that the bird was the beautiful Queen they catch her at the moment of transformation. But the spell is broken and she is doomed never to sing again.
• This work is an expression of the woman caught between her traditional role and that of career. The sculpture strives to capture this emotional intensity in flowing bronze. It is at once flying, while eternally rooted to the earth, frozen in molten time and bronze and finally, an expression of how the artist's traditional Celtic heritage was fused into a contemporary work of artistic relevance, today.