Survey Data
Reg No
20513156
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Artistic
Original Use
Monument
In Use As
Monument
Date
1935 - 1940
Coordinates
167629, 71889
Date Recorded
10/04/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding cast-bronze statue, designed 1937, on veined cut-limestone monolithic pedestal on a square plan. Installed, 1995. Repositioned, 2012. Street fronted.
Appraisal
A statue cast from "Mary Anne" (1937) by Seamus Murphy RHA (1907-75) which celebrated the female traders known as "Shawlies" who traditionally plied their wares on Coal Quay and the surrounding streets. The plaster model, signed by Murphy and part of the collection of the Crawford Art Galley [CAG.2516], is given a semi-naturalistic finish in contrast to the idealised sinuous lines of his reliefs and religious statuary. This version of "The Onion Seller" was presented (1995) to the people of Cork by Ray Doherty to commemorate a decade in business in the city and originally stood at the head of Winthrop Street. It was subsequently moved (2012) to Corn Market Street and, in a twist of irony, faces the old premises of Musgrave Brothers Limited whose directors actively campaigned against casual street trading and saw the removal of the "Shawlies" from where "The Onion Seller" now stands. A second version of "The Onion Seller" was presented (1985) to the people of Cork by Sunbeam Wolsey and was unveiled by Alderman Dan Wallace (b. 1942), Lord Mayor of Cork, as the centrepiece of the new Bishop Lucey Park (28th February 1985). A third version of "The Onion Seller" was offered for sale in December 2008 and is in a private collection.