An Irish currach made entirely from recycled and salvaged material is to be launched by artist and boatbuilder Mark Redden in Barcelona, Spain on St Patrick’s Day.
As The Times Ireland reports today, “Saoirse” has been built over the past year by Redden as part of a project to investigate the level of plastic pollution in fish.
Redden has modelled this vessel on the Connemara version while using only materials which were recycled or salvaged.
The award-winning artist has built many currachs since he trained with Jackie Mons of Oughterard, Co Galway.
He also worked with Meitheal Mara, the community boatyard and training project in Cork city, while studying at the Crawford College of Art and Design.
After he moved to Barcelona in Spain, Redden jointly founded the cultural association, Iomramh (which translates from the Irish as “rowing” or “sea voyage”) in the Catalan capital.
The association has hosted a Mediterranean currach regatta on St Patrick’s Day since 2008, but this had to be suspended due to Covid-19.
Redden says he used his time over the past 12 months to forge links between business, science and the art of boatbuilding to create a project aimed at reducing the volume of waste plastic in oceans.
He is also collaborating with a Welsh-based company TrimTabs, founded by Irish scientist Alvin Orbaek White, and scientists from the Energy Safety Research Institute in Swansea University on efforts to convert “fished-up” plastic into high-end carbon electrical conduit.
Read The Times here
