Survey Data
Reg No
15000386
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Artistic, Historical
Original Use
Monument
In Use As
Monument
Date
1965 - 1975
Coordinates
203810, 241542
Date Recorded
06/09/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding bronze bust of the tenor Count John McCormack on white marble plinth, c.1970. Cast by artist Seamus Murphy. Erected on this site in 1984, the centenary of McCormack's birth. Located on west bank of River Shannon on Grace Road.
Appraisal
An attractive bronze statue commemorating the life of the internationally renowned tenor Count John McCormack (14 June 1884 - 16 September 1945), who was born in Athlone. John Francis McCormack was the fourth of eleven children and was baptised in St. Mary's Church, Athlone on 23 June 1884. His father was employed in Athlone Woolen Mills. To many people the highlight of McCormack's Irish career was his singing of Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus to the thousands who thronged Dublin's Phoenix Park for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress. He was much honoured and decorated for his services to the world of music. His greatest honour came in 1928, when he received the title Count from Pope Pius XI in recognition of his work for Catholic charities.