
Plans for a sculpture in Aberaeron, commemorating the emigration of 36 Welsh people to the USA over two centuries ago, have been withdrawn following criticism. The Aberaeron-Ohio Association, Cymdeithas Cymru – Ohio 2018, initially proposed the artwork, Lost Girl / Y Ferch Goll, as a tribute to the group who left Cilcennin for Ohio in 1818.
The steel sculpture was intended to represent Mary, a young girl from the group who didn’t make it safely. However, the application submitted to Ceredigion planners has now been retracted due to concerns that it would “obscure the iconic harbour view out to sea and, in particular, our beautiful sunsets”.
Local history society, Cymdeithas Aberaeron, supported the “strong public opposition” and also objected to the design. Critics argued that Aberaeron was merely a stopover before the group’s final departure from Liverpool, suggesting that either Liverpool or Cilcennin, which has a Lampeter postcode, might be more suitable locations for the sculpture.
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A statement accompanying the application explained that the intention was to commemorate the families who had “embarked on this perilous journey”, focusing particularly on the story of Mary.
The statement reads: “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.”