A MINIATURE version of Gort town centre is proving a big hit with locals and visitors alike.
Gort is preparing to undergo major redevelopment as part of the Gort Town Centre First plan so the Gort Model Club decided to create a visual representation of this for people to enjoy.
Currently on display at Gort Library, visitors will recognise details in the model including the Market Square, shop fronts including the Gallery Café, O’Sullivan’s Hotel and even recently opened Inkbound Bookshop.
Other details which have not gone unnoticed include the A-Team van going around a roundabout on two wheels; while the Mona Lisa and the Girl With The Pearl Earring are proudly on display in the public art section; meanwhile a bystander is in the process of being arrested for relieving himself in public.
The model begins at Farrells Auctioneers and goes as far as the Church, whilst also taking in the Market Square from O’Sullivans Hotel to the Resource Centre.
Gort Model Club is a dedicated group of amateurs which was formed by Kevin Guerin and Loughrea resident Jimmy Hynes in October 2024 and has since gone on to attract 14 members. After hours of painstaking work, the incredibly detailed production was recently unveiled at O’Sullivan’s Hotel prior to being moved to the library.
Kevan told The Clare Echo that planning began in March of this year, when thousands of photographs were taken before 3D designs could be created and printed while much of the structures were created using recycled materials from Gort Frame Shop.
“For me personally, the standout is the church,” Kevan notes. “It was made by our member Carl Walker, he has a laser cutter. We took about a million pictures of the church and then he was able to design it using his laser cutter. It came out perfect.”
He continued, “It was a lot of work to get there and everyone in the group contributed. We’re a bunch of amateurs with no funding.” Kevan, originally from Limerick, also noted the contributions of two American ladies in the group. “It’s not a hobby that has many women members and the fact that we have two, we’re very proud of that. Melissa Spencer painted all the figures with a friend of hers, Shayna Hansbury. They did a great job on that, those things are tiny.”
Kevan praised the “brilliant” Gort Resource Centre who provided the group with a space to meet and somewhere to plan along with John O’Sullivan of O’Sullivan’s Hotel who donated €200 towards the purchase of materials.
Building models has been a hobby for Kevan since his teenage years however he admits to being “flabbergasted” that so many people showed up to see the model being unveiled at O’Sullivans Hotel.
Looking ahead, the group have announced that they hope to run the Gort Model Show next year. “We’re hoping we could start with a one-day event and put on a show that people would like to come to, that’s one of our big plans for next year.”
The model will be on display in Gort Library for the coming fortnight before being redressed for Christmas when it will go on display in the Resource Centre window.
