{"id":148021,"date":"2025-11-19T09:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/148021\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:35:07","slug":"artists-joy-as-stolen-belfast-library-sculpture-set-for-return-to-display-within-weeks-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/148021\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist\u2019s joy as stolen Belfast library sculpture set for return to display within weeks \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

An artist whose sculpture was stolen from outside a Belfast library two years ago has said she is \u201cvery happy\u201d the piece of art is set to be returned to its plinth in the new year.<\/p>\n

Italian artist Daniela Balmaverde was left \u201cdevastated\u201d<\/a> when her sculpture \u2013 based on a 9th century Irish language verse \u2013 was removed from its display spot in the grounds of Ormeau Library in November 2023.<\/p>\n

The stainless steel piece, which was first erected in 2011 and weighs around 70 kilos, was wrenched from the plinth in an overnight theft believed to have required at least two people to carry out.<\/p>\n

A month later it was recovered thanks to a Belfast antique dealer who acquired it from a scrap metal merchant he had previously not dealt with.<\/p>\n

\"Belfast<\/a>\"Forty-six<\/a><\/p>\n

The dealer returned the sculpture to Libraries NI<\/a>, but earlier this year the Irish News reported on frustrations that the artwork was \u201cgathering dust\u201d instead of being returned to public display<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The delay has been blamed on damage caused to the plinth by the theft, but now repairs are nearing completion, the sculpture could be back on display within weeks.<\/p>\n

\"ArtistArtist Daniela Balmaverde with SDLP councillor Gary McKeown (left) and Libraries NI chief executive Jim O’Hagan <\/p>\n

Ms Balmaverde, who is based in south Belfast but is originally from Turin, welcomed news the artwork would once again become a fixture of the Ormeau Road area.<\/p>\n

It was inspired by a short Irish language verse from the 9th century, known as The Blackbird of Belfast Lough and later translated by Seamus Heaney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A blackbird has since been used in artwork to promote the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen\u2019s University.<\/p>\n

Ms Balmaverde created the sculpture, depicting a woman and a bird reading a book, as part of a cross-community project to celebrate the Ormeau area\u2019s diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have been in touch with me since the theft to say how much they associated the piece not only with the library, but with the Ormeau Road itself, and that they have missed its presence \u2013 it was quite well recognised,\u201d she told the Irish News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy that it will very soon be returned to public display. We were very lucky to get it back after it was stolen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe there needs to be some repair work completed on the plinth, and once that\u2019s completed, it can go back up.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Belfast SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said he was \u201cdelighted\u201d that the sculpture would finally be removed from storage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe necessary metalwork repairs have been done to the piece, and it is now ready for reinstallation by specialist stonemasons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s two years since it was first stolen, and I\u2019ve been working with Daniela to keep momentum up on getting it put back in its rightful place. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has taken longer than we would have hoped, but we\u2019ve been advised that it should be on display again soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThis particular piece of art holds a special place for the local community as Ormeau Road Library is a real focal point for the area and is heavily used by people of all generations, so there\u2019ll be a great degree of relief and joy when it is back where it belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Libraries NI spokesperson said it has \u201ccontinued to work closely with the original artist and specialist contractors to ensure the piece is fully restored and reinstated\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new capstone for the plinth is currently being crafted by a stonemason, and further specialist work, including core drilling to safely hold the sculpture, will follow,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect the sculpture to be returned to its rightful place early in the new year. We appreciate the public\u2019s interest and look forward to the \u2018Blackbird of Belfast Lough\u2019 once again being a prominent feature at the library.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An artist whose sculpture was stolen from outside a Belfast library two years ago has said she is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60,84200,3023,38577,16554],"class_list":{"0":"post-148021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-libraries-ni","17":"tag-sculpture","18":"tag-south-belfast","19":"tag-theft"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}