Werner Brings The Past Back To life   You are in · RoscreaOnline · Community · Features

A large crowd gathered at the “Abbey Hall” Roscrea recently for the opening of an intriguing new exhibition by local Sculptor Werner Groll...

The exhibition which is entitled “The Wood Of Cré” features many of Werner’s greatest works that have in the past been showcased at various venues around the town.  Indeed all the pieces on show in the exhibition have been carved from pieces of wood located no more than two miles from the town of Roscrea.

Local historian and author George Cunningham who had the pleasure of officially opening the exhibition said “Roscrea needs people like Werner”.  He said Werner’s talents can be used to enhance the whole visual aspect of the town and that the skill and inventiveness of local artists/sculptors like Werner should always be encouraged”

Pictured at the opening of Werner Groll’s exhibition entitled “The Wood Of Cré”  are L/R:  George Cunningham, Werner Groll & John Lupton.

Addressing those in attendance, Werner thanked all those who had helped him with the organisation of the exhibition.  He said it was his ambition through his work to recreate the past and bring back to life stories from by-gone days.  Werner originally from Germany has been living in Ireland since 1993. A Carpenter by trade Werner spent many years in Germany as an Art Tutor sharing his many skills and ideals with hundreds of students in the city of Frankfurt.  His influence has helped ensure that many of these students have gone on to develop successful careers in Carpentry, Wood Furnishings and Sculpture etc

At the moment Werner is trying to establish his own business at his new workshop situated in the old meat factory, Roscrea. His goal is to establish an enterprise that will allow him design specific pieces of work while at the same time affording him the opportunity to provide training in wood skills to people interested in developing and harnessing the skills necessary for a successful future in wood carving.
Since his arrival in Roscrea, Werner has read a lot of material on the town and its history. He quickly identified that Roscrea has a great past providing him with lots of inspiration to create some wonderful pieces of sculpture.
Werner's pieces include a fantastic wood sculpture of St Cronan, who founded Roscrea. He also has a wonderful piece called “Growing Up Together” located in Roscrea Credit Union and recently he introduced a piece called “The Boat” to his collection which Werner created in honour of all the people who had to leave the Roscrea area in the past because of Famine and emigration.  In fact it is Warner’s hope that North Tipperary County Council may at some time in the future commission a large scale version of “The Boat” which would be placed on one of the approach roads to the town and would no doubt attract a lot of interest from passers by resulting in even more tourists and visitors taking timeout to enjoy all that Roscrea has to offer.

Through his exhibition Werner would like to see more people take an interest in the history and culture of their town. It is Werner's hope that through his sculpture and what his creations symbolize, that he can ignite even further people’s pride in their home place. Werner’s exhibition the “Wood Of Cré” is open daily from Monday to Friday from 4pm – 7.00pm and Saturday and Sunday from 1.00pm – 6.00pm.  The Exhibition will run until the first week in September and all are invited to attend.  For Heritage Week which runs from August 26th to September 3rd, the Exhibition will be open throughout the day.  During that week Werner will move his workshop to the Abbey Hall so that people can experience first hand a master at his work.