Misneach (), also known as Girl on Horse, "John Byrne's 'Girl on Horse'" is an equestrian statue by Irish artist John Byrne in Ballymun, a Northside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The statue was commissioned as part of Ballymun Regeneration Limited's percent for art scheme Breaking Ground. It is the only equestrian statue in Dublin. It was unveiled in front of Trinity Comprehensive School on 17 September 2010, although it was originally intended to be placed at the proposed town centre on the former Ballymun Shopping Centre site, being relocated due to plans for a proposed Ballymun MetroLink station. The statue was cast from a mould of the Gough Monument, replacing the figure of Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough with local teenager Tony Marie Shields, subverting the expectation typically associated with military imagery. The statue has been read as subverting expectations that come with equestrian statues and reclaiming the monument, though some locals have criticised it as portraying a stereotypical image of Ballymun.
Background
Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, was born in 1779. He took part in the British invasion of the Cape Colony in September 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was deployed with the 1st Battalion of the 87th to the West Indies, taking part in the expedition to Dutch Guiana in 1799. Gough commanded the 2nd Battalion of his regiment at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809, fought at the Battle of Barrosa, took part in the Siege of Tarifa in January 1812, the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and the Battle of Nivelle. He led the assault at the Battle of Canton in May 1841, and having been promoted to the local rank of lieutenant general in India and in China on 18 June 1841, he also led the assault at the Battle of Amoy in August 1841. He commanded the British forces at the Battle of Chapu in May 1842 and at the Battle of Chinkiang in July 1842. After the Treaty of Nanking, the British forces were withdrawn and he returned to India. He was promoted to the local rank of full general in India on 3 March 1843.In August 1843 Gough became Commander-in-Chief, India, and in December 1843 he led the British forces in action against the Mahrattas defeating them decisively at the conclusion of the Gwalior campaign. He also commanded the troops at the Battle of Mudki in December 1845, at the Battle of Ferozeshah also in December 1845 and at the Battle of Sobraon in February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War.
The Second Anglo-Sikh War started in 1848, and Gough took to the field commanding in person at the Battle of Ramnagar in November 1848 and at the Battle of Chillianwala in January 1849. He was criticised for relying on frontal assault by infantry rather than using artillery and was replaced as commander-in-chief by Sir Charles Napier but, before news of his replacement had arrived, Gough achieved a decisive victory over the Sikhs in the Battle of Gujarat in February 1849. He advanced in the peerage as Viscount Gough of Goojerat in the Punjab and of the City of Limerick on 4 June 1849. He retired from active service later that year and died at St. Helen's, his home in Booterstown, on 2 March 1869 and was buried in Stillorgan.
John Henry Foley was commissioned to make a statue of Gough around 1868, but died before its completion, leaving his pupil Thomas Brock to finish it. The statue was previously located in Phoenix Park in Dublin, but after several attacks to the statue and an explosion from the Irish Republican Army (IRA), "Working with local young people, [John] Byrne recast the horse from the Gough monument blown up by the IRA in 1957 and replaced the conquering military leader with a teenage girl from the area" it was moved to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. It was later purchased by Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh and moved to its current location in Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, where it was restored.
In the 1960s, the Irish Government needed new housing to replace Georgian tenements in Dublin that were collapsing. They decided to construct a prefabricated housing estate in the village of Ballymun in the city's outskirts, on land bought by the Dublin Corporation (later Dublin City Council (DCC)) from the Albert Agricultural College. The housing estate contained a group of high rise tower blocks called the Ballymun Flats. Construction started in 1965 and was undertaken by a consortium of John Sisk and Son and Hadens-Cubitts, using the Balency et Schuul system for flats and the Lowton Cubitt system for houses. "Two separate construction systems would be used for the buildings of the flats and the houses: the Balency et Schuul system for the flats and the Lowton-Cubitt system for the houses" The first tenants were relocated in 1966. The flats were the first council houses with access to foreign piped television. The housing project was completed in 1968, with additional flats being built in 1969.
Residents grew unhappy with the flats. Promises to build a swimming pool and playground went unfulfilled. The block only had one shopping centre, forcing tenants to buy necessities at shops ran out of containers. "In 1966, when the first tenants moved in [..], the estate was pristine, with its gleaming white towers and 'spine' blocks [..] and its proud new inhabitants. followed. [..] Quickly the flats experienced above average turnover, as the big incentives to become an owner-occupier enticed away anyone with even modest means." "In terms of facilities, this town, the size of Clonmel , had just one supermarket, two pubs, a part-time bank, and twenty four container shops (i.e. operating out of disused 40 foot containers" Many residents dealt and used drugs at the flats. "The only way out for too many young people in Ballymun was via drugs. At least a thousand of the tenants were drug addicts, one in six were unmarried mothers, a further 10% were deserted/separated wives, unemployment was reckoned to be 45%, and up to a third of the estate's population of 12,000 was on the waiting list for housing elsewhere" People who lived in the housing estate faced prejudice and discrimination, and some employers refused to hire people that lived in council homes. Historically, Ballymun has strong links to equestrianism and horses. Since the 1980s, a subculture of "urban cowboys" were a popular hobby among Ballymun youth. The Control of Horses Act passed in 1996, brought the subculture to near extinction. After the act was passed, locals often described themselves as having to choose between keeping the horses or selling them for drugs. "The local children's pastime and passion for horse trading and riding emerged in the 1980s, extending the legacy of the traveling community and traditional roles for horses in delivering fuel and milk to homes and businesses [..] After restrictive legislation via the Control of Horses Act in 1996, which affected concern for the welfare of horses and animal rights but in reality made the hobby prohibitive for young people who were already overlooked by the local authorities, journalist Fintan O'Toole described Ballymun's young "urban cowboys" as "a subculture struggling against extinction". Tensions between human and animal health, deprivation, joy, and the “elemental freedom” felt by young people on horseback, who often described themselves as having a choice between horses and drugs"
In 1997, DCC set up the limited company Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL) to conduct a regeneration of the area. As part of the regeneration, BRL commissioned the percent for art scheme Breaking Ground in 2001, launching it in February 2002. "In 2001, [BRL] commissioned a per cent for art scheme for Ballymun [..] 'Breaking Ground' was launched in February 2002" Misneach was commissioned as part of Breaking Ground in 2006. "The equestrian statue Misneach, commissioned as part of the Ballymun Regeneration project in 2006" It was unveiled in front of Trinity Comprehensive School on 17 September 2010. The sculpture was originally intended to be placed at the proposed town centre on the former Ballymun Shopping Centre site, however due to plans for a proposed Ballymun MetroLink station, the sculpture was relocated. It is the first contemporary equestrian statue in Ireland, "John Byrne unveiled the first equestrian statue in Ireland in modern times (Misneach, 2010, Ballymun); in true post-modern fashion, it represents local teenager Toni Marie Shields from Ballymun, rather than an Imperial general." and is the last surviving equestrian statue in Dublin, with the city having four equestrian statues in its past "Recognising that there were no longer any equestrian monuments in Dublin – there once were four – Byrne decided to create one for Ballymun"the Gough Monument (blown up in 1957), the Equestrian statue of George I (sold to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in 1937), the Statue of George II (blown up in 1937), and the Statue of William of Orange (blown up 1928). The decision to display the work infront of Trinity Comprehensive may have been influenced by Philip Napier, who opted to display his work in locations that were meaningful, rather than displaying them in galleries which are viewed as more pristine. "Not only was Napier making use of found objects and sound to create his installation, he also chose to display the work in a non-gallery venue. Gauge was first exhibited in the Orchard Gallery, Derry, followed by display in a derelict house in the Bogside. By the close of the twentieth century several sculptors were choosing to dispense with the official display areas or 'white cube' galleries in favour of less pristine and more meaningful locations. This resulted in exciting developments in Community Art, most notably in Ballymun, Co. Dublin. Breaking Ground, a public art project which commenced in 2001, was part of the Ballymun Regeneration Programme."
Design and symbolism The statue depicts a 17-year-old Ballymun local, Toni Marie Shields, wearing an Adidas tracksuit on a military-style horse atop a marble podium. "In another part of Dublin today, there is a larger- than- life bronze sculpture called Misneach on a marble podium depicting a teenage girl riding a horse bareback [..] Byrnes Misneach also makes reference to Ballymun's strong historical links with horses, which have long been company for humans in this once suburban, now urban landscape." The bronze statue was structured from a wax mould of the Gough Monument, with Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough replaced with Shields. Shields underwent laser scanning in London to make a computer-generated wax mould for the sculpture. In September 2006, 20 Ballymun locals interested in the sculpture were brought to the Kill Equestrian Centre in Kildare to audition for it. Shields was chosen in 2007, on the grounds of posture and horsemanship, with the sculpture being based off a photograph of her riding a horse there. "In September 2006, 20 girls from Ballymun were brought to [the KIll Equestrian Centre] to audition to be cast as the rider. On the grounds of posture and horsemanship, 16 year old Toni Marie Shields from Ballymun was chosen to be the new figure for the sculpture" The decision to depict her riding bareback was intended to represent Ballymun's equestrian traditions, with a female rather than a male rider chosen to represent the area's youth culture. "Shown riding bareback, once a tradition among young people in Ballymun, she is portrayed in casual attire, wearing tracksuit and trainers" It was completed in England and shipped back to Ireland. "Not without some irony, Byrne's Misneach was completed in England and returned to Ireland by boat."