A great turnout for the official launch of St. Patrick's Way & Art Trail in Skerries

Fingal County Council was delighted to officially launch St Patrick’s Way & Art Trail at Skerries Sailing Club on Saturday June 22, 2024.  The launch, by Acting Mayor of Fingal Cllr Robert O’Donohoe, was attended by the artists, representatives of Fingal County Council and Fáilte Ireland, and an enthusiastic local audience. Guests were invited on a special walking tour where they got insight into the new artworks, map boards and information points.  

The St Patrick’s Way & Art Trail has been developed by Fingal County Council with funding support from Fáilte Ireland’s Destination Towns Scheme, 2020-2023. This trail is designed to enhance the local and visitor experience of Skerries with map boards and information located at key points on a trail that can be accessed as a 5km walk and enjoyed at multiple locations from Skerries Mills to South Strand, north beach to the centre of the town. The trail is designed to highlight the significance of the towns historical, natural and cultural gems.

Acting Mayor of Fingal Councillor Robert O’Donohoe remarked at the launch: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in developing the fantastic Trail we are launching today. St Patrick’s Way & Art Trail demonstrates how collaboration, community engagement, technical and specialist knowledge from Fingal County Council and beyond has culminated in helping Skerries to tell new stories about this town and through the Fáilte Ireland Destination Towns Funding Scheme, these stories are now clearly available to visitors arriving here and we can see how this will have a significant economic impact for the town.”

The trail includes a unique art trail featuring commissioned public artworks by 5 very exciting artists:

Atsushi Kaga; Bennie Reilly;  Liliane Puthod;Marie Farrington and Mary Conroy.

Skerries Art Trail was developed by Fingal County Council’s Public Art Programme where the five artists were curated from Fingal County Council’s Public Art Panel and tasked to create a series of small-scale public art commissions, which respond to the unique landscape of Skerries. The Mapboards which feature at key locations throughout the trail also include a QR code which contains further information on the history and the art trail.

Chief Executive of Fingal County Council Ann Marie Farrelly explained “This programme of work has been delivered and developed by the council’s Economic, Enterprise, Tourism & Cultural Department in partnership with our operations and heritage teams and in close communication with local representatives in Skerries. The investment from Fáilte Ireland and the Destination Town’s Scheme has been the catalyst for collaboration and a demonstration of a shared vision where heritage, culture, arts and environment are celebrated and will continue to drive tourism and economic benefits for Skerries for many years to come”.

Helen Cole, Fáilte Ireland’s Dublin Regional Manager emphasised:

“As art and urban animation plays an increasingly important role in re-imagining our public spaces as welcoming and vibrant places for locals and tourists alike, Fáilte Ireland is pleased to have part fund The Patrick’s Way and Art Trail through our Destination Towns Investment Scheme. Fáilte Ireland looks for every opportunity to expand the number of destinations that offer compelling visitor experiences with the potential to drive visitors across the regions. Initiatives, like our Destination Towns Scheme, are critical in doing this by boosting the tourism appeal of destinations across the country. This 5km trail launched today highlights Skerries' historical, natural, and cultural treasures and brings the story of the town to life to new and exciting ways for visitors and the local community”.

Fingal County Council’s Public Art Co-ordinator Caroline Cowley explains that “We were particularly keen to select Artists who were emerging in a public art practice and so uniquely the commissioning process included a number of Artists Professional Development supports, including a partnership between Fingal’s Public Art Programme and Leitrim Sculpture Centre”. 

The Skerries Artists were supported through a Joint Residency for two weeks at Leitrim Sculpture Centre, which included a range of masterclasses where they worked intensively with a group of highly experienced Leitrim and Regional Artists, exploring hands on technical skills and materials, such as stone carving, metalwork including pouring molten bronze and aluminium, enamel work, mould making, this process was supported with the expert mentorship of  public art specialist curator Annette Moloney who also delivered bespoke guidance on how the work could be developed for the public realm. 

The overall feedback from the Skerries Artists on the residency partnership was quite positive, especially as it was designed to be open and flexible as a research residency, informed by each Artists’ practice, more so than being specifically linked to what they might go on to develop for Skerries Art Trail. The artists were briefed on the scope of the trail experience, through local research and how new works might integrate into an already breath-taking landscape. Each artists response is different and has picked up on the feeling or the pace of the trail in that they encourage discovery, reflection, rest, enjoyment and play; all of the things that make Skerries an attractive Destination Town.

We will continue to add to the experience of the trail with an engaging map created by well known illustrator Aoife Dooley and in consultation with Skerries Autism Friendly town, the trail will have a social story for those accessing the experience who are neurodivergent. Later this year renowned Irish Sculptor Jackie McKenna will create a new artwork for the trail celebrating the significance of St Patrick. This work will form a central touchstone along the trail and promises to be very special.

For Further information on the trail and the featured artists please visit

https://www.fingal.ie/st-patricks-way-and-art-trail-skerries