Clean Up Oscar Wilde!

As you may or may not recall I commented last September on my return from Paris on how sad I was to observe the state of Oscar Wilde's final resting place and how year by year the defacing of the tombstone sculpted by Sir Jacob Epstein had got progressively worse.

Well some good news - In a recent Oscar Wilde Society Newsletter the following article appeared which brought me a lot of pleasure.

Here is the article as it appears:

The Irish Times reports that The Minister of State for Finance, Mr Hayes, visited Père Lachaise cemetery during an official visit to Paris to confirm that the Office of Public Works would provide funding for the restoration of Oscar Wilde’s grave – one of the cemetery’s most visited tombs. The memorial, a sculpture of a modernist angel designed by Sir Jacob Epstein, is covered with graffiti and parts of the stone have been knocked off. The restoration project will involve cleaning the grave and surrounding it with glass joined by four bronze pillars.

The State was approached about the restoration by the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris and Merlin Holland, Wilde’s grandson. Sheila Pratschke, the director of the centre, said the project team wanted it to be as simple and as unobtrusive as possible. “It has been [Mr Holland’s] dream to have it cleaned, restored and respected,” Ms Pratschke said. “I think it will look magnificent when it’s cleaned.” Mr Hayes called the State’s involvement a small but very important gesture. “We have a responsibility to the great Irish writers, no matter where they are in the world, and we have a responsibility to their memory.”

Well said all and I wish the venture well!

Craig