The Thanksgiving Square Beacon

Belfast • 2005

This sculpture is one of the tallest artworks in the U.K & Ireland, at 19.5 metres, and is sited beside The River Lagan in the heart of Belfast. She was commissioned as a result of a competition to create a beacon or landmark celebrating the concept of Thanksgiving, symbolic of the regeneration and progress of the city as it moves onwards from it's troubled past.

The artwork is based on a concept proposed by a Belfast lady, Myrtle Smyth, who was inspired by Thanksgiving Square in Dallas, Texas. The sculpture is the result of six years of planning, development and eventual fabrication. Made of stainless steel and cast bronze, she spirals upwards and holds aloft "the ring of thanksgiving". The globe at her feet indicates the universal philosophy of peace, harmony and thanksgiving, and has marked on its surface the cities where the people and industries of Belfast migrated and exported to.

The sculpture was fabricated by P.F. Copeland of Newtonabbey, who worked from original scale maquettes by Andy, with the bronze globe cast by Beltane Studios in Peebles, Scotland. She has become a much loved icon for Belfast and has been adopted by City Council, tourism authorities, TV companies and several businesses as an emblem and logo; and in early October 2006 was recognised as the best artwork in the city by the Belfast Chamber of Commerce.

She is now known locally by several titles including "Angel of Harmony" and "Angel of Thanksgiving".

Photographs: Leo Murray