ATU Connemara and Gaelforce Events have come together to inspire young talent and produce top quality awards.
Community has always been at the core of Gaelforce Events, and supporting local is a big part of our ethos. This year, we have decided to do things a little differently.
In December, we approached Paul Leamy, the Head of Department at the college with the idea of giving one of his students the project of creating the awards for 4 of our events this year. He was intrigued by the idea and had a student in mind from the get go. We reconvened with Pearce and Paul in January to kick start the project which was shaping up to be something special with Pearce’s dad having competed in Gaelforce West, there was a tangible connection there that Pearce could feed off for his trophy designs. In February, we were blown away as Pearce presented two mock ups of the trophies and with a few minor tweaks, Pearce went to production.
All the trophies have been made from storm felled timber of Native Alder and Sycamore trees that would have otherwise been left to rot. The pieces used in the trophies this year have been processed (cut, dried and stored) for the last two years to ensure they are at the correct moisture content. A lot of the timber that is used at ATU Connemara is in fact, storm felled, fallen over or cut due to the poor health of the tree. This is an incredible model that the campus prides itself on, and in a sense, each piece has a story to tell.
SHORT BACKGROUND ABOUT PEARCE
Hi, my name is Pearse Summerville (20), I am a 3rd year student in ATU Connemara from Summerhill, Co. Meath, which is very different to the mountainous terrain of the races. I was tasked with designing and making this year’s awards for the Gaelforce 10K Trail Run Trilogy & Gaelforce West events. I chose the design and manufacture course in ATU Connemara as I am passionate about being able to find an idea and to bring it to fruition. This course allows me to bring my spontaneous ideas to life. For me, making furniture is an art form, so I try to stay true to myself and to create things from the heart, and to accept and love the imperfections of the natural materials I work with. I have a passion for writing, poetry, and storytelling, so I want to continue to create pieces that allow me to tell a story and to add my own personal touch. This project has been quite personal as my dad is a regular with the Gaelforce West events, so to be able to get involved and make the trophies for the event means a lot to me.
PRODUCTION
I began by selecting the boards I needed for the awards. For this project, I am using Native, Storm-Felled Alder & Sycamore. Once I had all my material selected, it was time to machine it all to size. As soon as the boards are cut and milled to their final dimensions, I can cut the mountain-shaped fronts on the CNC. When all my pieces are cut out, I can laser engrave the logo and the titles of the awards onto each piece before sanding and glueing. After the pieces are all glued and sanded, I can put the final coat of finish, and they’re ready to be handed off to the winners!
We were delighted with the way the trophies turned out and can’t wait to hand them over to our winners this year. Thank you, Pearse for taking on this project and giving us your best work and thank you to Paul Leamy who was enthusiastic about this project. We look forward to making this a constant in years to come.
