'Friendship Stone' art piece unveiled in Cloughjordan

On Thursday evening last week, several hundred people gathered on Main Street, Cloughjordan, to witness the unveiling of a new public art piece that marks the 800-year old connection between Cloughjordan and the Kingdom of Jordan.

Recorded history tells of an Anglo-Norman Knight named De Marisco who, in the 12th Century, brought back a stone from the River Jordan and inserted it into his Castle, present day Cloughjoran House. The new art piece has been designed to display the 'Friendship Stone' that was sourced by the Jordanian Government from the river at Christ's baptismal place, Bethany Beyond the Jordan. This stone was presented to the people of Cloughjordan in 2018 at a public event by the Jordanian Irish Association.

Following a community-wide survey, a site was chosen and a team of local artists worked with Cloughjordan Tidy Towns group to design the attractive new art piece. Thank you to Helen Costello, Mary and Brian Pickering, Tori McMorran, Ken Curran, Brendan Sheehan and Eoin Ó Brollchain for co-ordinating on behalf of Tidy Towns.

In the Middle Ages, the Cloughjordan area was an O'Carroll stronghold. Last week's gathering also heard about how the O'Carrolls imported their wine from The Levant, present day Jordan, Syria, etc.

This Friday, October 4th, a 30-strong community group from Cloughjordan will travel to Jordan for a 10-day social and cultural exchange experience. As well as visiting famous historical sites and natural heritage locations, while there the group will also have an official reception in the Irish Embassy, meet with the Jordanian Irish Association and meet with the CEO of the Jordan Tourism Board.

The connection between Cloughjordan, Tipperary and the Kingdom of Jordan is a unique and dynamic one and in today's seemingly more polarising world, it is at its heart about connecting peoples, promoting and sharing cultural curiousity. Cloughjordan looks forward to playing its part in the future developments between Tipperary and the Kingdom of Jordan.

The Cloughjordan Community Development Committee would like to thank Tipperary County Council, Mr Joe Geoghegan, the Honorary Consul of Jordan in Ireland; Mr Ramsey Khoury, Jordanian Irish Association and especially the people of Cloughjordan, without whose support this important cultural initiative would not have prospered.

 

Photo caption: Pictured at the unveling in Cloughjordan last week are Gearóid Ó Foighil (Chairperson, Cloughjordan Community Development Committee), Helen Costello (local artist), Gregory Whelan (Jordan trip co-ordinator) and Joe Geoghegan (Honorary Consul, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan). Photograph: Odhran Ducie