Proclamation is set in stone for schools

A SLATE quarry, sought out by European builders almost two centuries ago, is now hoping to supply samples of the unique material to every primary school in Ireland.

Valentia Slate has just unveiled a prototype of the Irish Proclamation and the company hopes that one might hang in every national school in the country in time for the centenary celebrations of the 1916 Rising in four years' time.

Yesterday, Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan, who heads the cross-party commemorative committee, unveiled a prototype at the quarry on Valentia Island in south Kerry.

It is an exact copy of the original proclamation, including all its typographical errors and quirks, engraved on a slab of natural slate.

The quarry on Valentia Island opened in 1816 but closed again in 1911.

For almost a century it supplied Irish natural slate for some of the best-known buildings in Europe including St Paul's Cathedral in London, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.

Even the floor tiles on the British Houses of Parliament are made of the slate.

After it closed, the quarry remained unused for 90 years until it was reopened by local men Michael Lyne and Pat O'Driscoll who began to cut the slate again and manufacture roof tiles, floor tiles, counter tops and even gravestones.

"A piece of slate will last for hundreds of years. It's probably one of the most durable materials and the lettering on it also lasts," Mr Lyne told the Irish Independent.

"There are gravestones in Valentia dating back to 1829 and you can read them clearly today, the lettering is as good as it always was."

The company has already won a contract to replace broken tiles on the Houses of Parliament in London that are over 150 years old.

Valentia Slate Ltd has plans to invest in a laser engraver at a cost of 100,000 and if the idea catches on they say it will translate to more new jobs at the company.

Fianna Fail senator Mark Daly, who's also a member of the 1916 commemorative committee, said the replica proclamations on Valentia Slate was just one of the ideas that had come up at committee level.