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'Lost girl' sculpture withdrawn amid sunset worry

Roger Kidd | Geograph Aberaeron seafront with boats in the harbour and overlooked by a row of terraced homes painted in different coloursRoger Kidd | Geograph
Local history society Cymdeithas Aberaeron says there was "strong public opposition that the structure will obscure the iconic harbour view"

Plans for a harbourside sculpture commemorating the emigration of 36 Welsh people to the USA more than 200 years ago have been withdrawn after criticism.

Cymdeithas Cymru – Ohio 2018, the Aberaeron-Ohio Association, initially sought permission to put the artwork, Lost Girl / Y Ferch Goll, at Aberaeron in Ceredigion.

Most of the group who left Cilcennin for Ohio in 1818 made it safely apart from one, a young girl called Mary, and the sculpture, made of strips of steel, would have been based on her.

But the application submitted to Ceredigion planners has now been withdrawn amid concern that it would "obscure the iconic harbour view out to sea and, in particular, our beautiful sunsets".

Sebastien Boyesen Design | Cymru-Ohio 2021 Artist's impression of the design showing vertical strips of metal that combined show the face of a young womanSebastien Boyesen Design | Cymru-Ohio 2021
Cymdeithas Cymru – Ohio 2018, the Aberaeron-Ohio Association, wanted to commemorate the journey made by 36 people from Cilcennin, Ceredigion, in 1818

Local history society Cymdeithas Aberaeron endorsed that "strong public opposition" and also objected to the design.

Other critics said Aberaeron was merely a stepping stone to the group's eventual departure from Liverpool, and that Cilcennin had a Lampeter postcode, suggesting that - or even Liverpool - may be a more appropriate location for the sculpture.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said the plan was to commemorate the families who had "embarked on this perilous journey".

"Of the 36 who started the journey, all arrived in America safely apart from one young girl, called Mary, and it is her story that we decided to focus on.

"In many ways, her untold story represents the true nature of the perilous journey in a wooden ship to America more than 200 years ago - that nothing is certain or can be taken for granted."