Michiko Masumi performing a traditional Japanese dance in the Lafcadio Hearn Garden on Sunday.
Speaking to The Munster Express, Agnes Aylward said she was thrilled with the popularity of the Lafcadio Hearn Garden since it was officially opened on Friday, June 26th by Minister Brendan Howlin.
She said visitors were particularly interested in the local aspects associated with the development of the garden. Much of the work involved in developing the garden involved local input.
Rocks used in the garden’s construction were sourced in nearby Dunhill and Fenor.
An area of the garden pays tribute to Waterford poet the late Sean Dunne who wrote ‘A Shrine to Lafcadio Hearn 1850-1904’.
Two lines of the poem are highlighted: ‘Afterwards, he was a story still told, set firmly as rocks in a Zen garden’.
The entire garden charts the life story of Lafcadio Hearn, the famous Irish Japanese literary figure.
The area includes references to Hearn’s time in America; his connections to Greece; his arrival in Japan; and of course his boyhood summers in Tramore.
A special performance of traditional Japanese dance by Michiko Masumi took place in the garden on Sunday last.
The garden has featured prominently in local and national media throughout the past week, and Agnes Aylward hopes that it will continue to attract many visitors.
One of her immediate aims is to construct an ornamental Japanese teahouse within the garden
