NANO NAGLE ICON

An icon is a religious work of art. Its purpose is to act as a window to the eternal present and bear witness to the invisible world of the spirit. An icon uses symbols to engage the viewer and help him or her penetrate the invisible barriers that exist between the world of the spirit and the natural world.

Desmond Kyne used a kinetic stained glass technique to depict the essence of Nano Nagle in an icon. In the artist’s own words he followed “closely the story-telling tradition and invitation to discover the mystery of God.”

Nano is represented as being eternally young and here she is shown in the context of the eternal present—where past, present, and future are united in one timeless vision. In the center is an image of the Sacred Heart. This was a central devotion of Nano and she named her followers “Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” Her hands are above the river Blackwater at Ballygriffin where she experienced the beauty of nature in sun, field, water and hills.

At her feet is a group of children surrounding the Lamb of God with buildings representing the city of Cork on either side. The spiral motif, the Celtic symbol of eternity and of God is repeated throughout the icon. In the side panels are symbols of Nano’s life.


ENLARGE ICON IMAGE

• The tabernacle, recalling her extraordinary devotion to the Eucharist

• A tiny window in a crowded room suggesting the poor and secret circumstances of her first schools

• Nano holding a book, symbol of literacy and learning, which she so highly prized

• The four founding sisters, standing near a well of living water

• The gallows of death and the ship of exile, poignant reminders of the Penal Laws which sought to destroy Irish Catholic identity

• Nano caring for the sick whom she visited in their homes. She also built a home for destitute elderly ladies

• Nano with her lantern, a symbol of her joyful spirit

• The Presentation of Mary in the temple, an event for which, after her death, the order she founded was named

• Her Uncle Joseph who supported her work