Arthur’s Quay Park

Arthurs Quay, LimerickGoogle Maps

Arthur’s Quay Park takes its name from the Arthur family, prominent medieval merchants who had settled in Limerick by the 13th century.
The site which is now known as Arthur’s Quay Park used to be known as Arthur’s Quay, which was built in 1773 to provide harbour facilities for timber ships.
Arthur’s Quay Park was overlooked by Georgian townhouses that were built by the Arthur family in the 18th century, then fell into disrepair, becoming a tenement block until its eventual demolition in the 1950s.
Following the demolition of the townhouses, Arthur’s Quay became a car park.
This site is now occupied by a public park, with views looking onto the River Shannon, King John’s Castle, Curragower Falls and the Clare Hills.
It was one of 19 listed venues for the 18th edition of EVA in 1994, curated by Jan Hoet (b. 1936, Belgium; d. 2014).
Luc Deleu (b. 1944, Belgium) presented a work titled Construction X (for 9 containers) (1994), consisting of nine shipping containers formed into a massive ‘X’ in the centre of the park.
This large-scale public artwork was installed for a second time in 2012, for the 35th edition of EVA, curated by Annie Fletcher (b. 1971, Ireland).
Deleu was trained as an architect. Describing his practice, Jan Hoet wrote: ‘Rooted in that discipline and logic, his early and mature artwork is conceptual, and continues to engage architectural principles, theories and practices, though in a paradoxical and iconoclastic spirit. He has a passion for cranes, containers, ready-made objects, which he dislocates into contexts that astonish and amaze, the way Gulliver both caused and experienced such wonderment.’