The deployment of The Haunting Soldier to St. Stephen’s Green in November provoked both admiration and dissent amongst an Irish audience. Created by Dorset-based artist and blacksmith Martin Galbavy, the Soldier dominated the entrance to the Green during his brief service in Dublin. Galbavy offers a modernist interpretation to a traditional subject: the Soldier was constructed mostly from an eclectic mixture of scrap metal found in the forge where it was assembled, ranging from bed springs to horseshoes. It was brought to Ireland to mark the celebration of the centenary of the Armistice of the First World War. Battle weary and leaning heavily on his rifle, the Soldier represents the universal soldier, a visual reminder of all those who served during the First World War, and a powerful personification of anti-war sentiment. Contextually, Galbavy’s soldier transmits a rather more complex message – one of an Irishman in a British uniform.
Galbavy has created an impressive visual reminder of the horrors of war and its effect on the individual. The Soldier is a dignified commemoration of the sacrifices made by those who fought in the Great War, and commands respect through its scale and stature. Its arrival in the city centre was greeted with enthusiasm and the Soldier has since inspired a strong reaction; so strong that someone saw fit to vandalise it with red paint. It is unknown whether the vandals were politically motivated or merely intent on committing a thoughtless act of defacement.The act sparks debate in how we confront this aspect of our history. Ireland, at the outbreak of the First World War, had ignited a revolution against British rule. At the same time over 200,000 Irish volunteers fought as part of the British forces during the war, of which nearly a quarter died.
Has the commemoration of the Armistice inspired the need to reconsider how we remember this aspect of our past? Recent presidential debates saw the issue of wearing the poppy arise as many identify this as a purely British symbol. A British symbol that in this case also represents the Irish. The irony of placing the Soldier under Fusiliers’ Arch can’t be ignored either. The monument of Fusiliers’ Arch was awarded the caustic nickname of ‘Traitors Gate’ as it commemorated the Irish who died fighting in the Second Boer War. Clearly military monuments and symbols of remembrance can take on a very different meaning depending on the context.
But what does this mean for anti-war art in Ireland? The conception of the Haunting Soldier representing the universal soldier is conflicted. The Soldier is undeniably part of the British army, he wears a British trench cap. At first glance, the figure is purely a symbol of the British army, an army that the 1916 rebels fought against during the Easter Rising. Yet, at the same time there were Irishmen wearing this uniform in the trenches of the Great War. Unintentionally, Galbavy’s sculpture reminds us of this great contradiction in Irish historical memory. It reminds us that the context of anti-war art is integral to the way it is understood by different people. In Britain, he represents sacrifice and memory. In Ireland, these qualities have a more layered meaning. However, for most of those who attended his farewell ceremony the underlying message of the Soldier was clear: he stands as a reminder of all who fought in the war, regardless of where they were from. His scrap metal form portrays him as a very literal cog in the war machine. Undoubtedly inspired by the vandalism of the sculpture, hundreds turned out to see the Soldier removed from the Green on the last Sunday of November. The popularity of the sculpture and the emotional farewell he received prompted calls for the commission of a permanent installation.
The Soldier’s brief tenure in Ireland is a reminder of our complex relationship with the past. How the Soldier commemorates this past is open to interpretation. Nevertheless, judging from the crowds at the farewell ceremony and the sculptures unfortunate clash with mindless vandalism, Galbavy’s work has had the desired effect. The Haunting Soldier at its purest is the embodiment of memory. How we choose to interpret this memory is for us to decide.
