MARIAN STATUE - EVERGREEN STREET

1954 MARIAN STATUE [ EVERGREEN STREET CORK]

I cannot find any information specific to this Marian statue on Evergreen Street in Cork other than it dates from August 1954.

In 1953 Pope Pius ordered a Marian year for 1954, the first in Church history. It was called to commemorate the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. The Marian year, which ran from December 1953 to December 1954, was filled with Marian initiatives, in the areas of Mariology, cultural events, and charity and social gatherings.

If you are not from Ireland you may be unaware of 'Marian Statues' and if you are younger than 35 or 40 you may also be unaware of them and even if you pass any of them on a daily basis you may not have given them much thought.

There are about 20 or 30 in Dublin alone and most of them are located on public land in what were working class areas back in the 1950s. One or two are located on private property with the statue at Broadstone Station being one example. I do not know how many are located in Cork city but every time I visit I discover one or two more.

Most were financed and erected ahead of the Marian Year of 1954 when entire communities mobilised to have a statue in their area. If you were female and you were born in 1954 there is a very strong possibility that your name is Marian or some version of that name.

The majority are still well-kept and regularly maintained by a dedicated groups or dedicated individuals but at times it can be difficult to determine who actually maintains them.

There was a Marian Year in 1987 but it had very little impact in Ireland especially when it came to statue building. I lived in Stillorgan, Dublin, from 1960 until 1985 and I was convinced that there was a Marian statue in the area well before 1986 but the Marian Statue has a plaque stating that it was erected in was erected in 1986.