The artist, Glenna Goodacre was selected to execute The Irish Memorial. Selected from an international group of more than 100 artists, the Irish Memorial Committee chose Glenna Goodacre to create the sculpture. Best known for her stirring tribute to the women who served in Vietnam, The Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the Mall in Washington D.C., Glenna’s work in bronze is world-renowned. This memorial, with its sensitive representation of women in a time of hostility, will guarantee her place in the annals of American sculpture.
The artist was selected to execute The Irish Memorial not only for her ability to create exciting design, but for a concept that has truly captured the mission and objective of the Memorial to commemorate the past and recognize the contributions of the survivors to educate and inspire future visitors to the site to portray the indefatigable spirit of the Irish to show the eagerness of the survivors to engage the challenges of the new world to reflect the theme of both tragedy and triumph emphasis on hope and freedom.
In a career that has spanned thirty-five years, Goodacre has formulated her belief in art into sculptures of heroic monuments, vivacious children and sensitive portraits. A painter and sculptor, Goodacre received training in painting and drawing at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, and the Art Students League in New York. The first exhibition in which her bronzes were shown was in 1971. Goodacre’s commissioned bronze portrait figures and busts are in public view in more than 10 states. Her work is represented in numerous private, corporate, municipal, national and international collections. In national exhibits her works have won numerous awards from the National Sculpture Society and the Allied Artists of America and in 1994, she was elected a member of the National Academy of Design.
