Westmeath County Council has erected an artistic feature known as The Game Piece in the new park on Jail Hill. The feature, originally commissioned for the N4, was created by Irish Artist Dony MacManus.
Inspiration for the piece came from a set of 20 copper alloy-mounted bone game pieces in the National Museum. The tripod form is an enlargement of one of these pieces rising to almost four metres in height.
It is thought the game pieces may be from Lough Sewdy and are dated to the Viking period. Many Viking gaming pieces, most commonly of bone, have been recovered in various parts of the country particularly those from Viking Dublin such as at the excavations at Christchurch. Little is known of the types of games they played with these pieces. A famous wooden gaming board has however been found at the excavations at Ballinderry crannog, Co Westmeath.
The new location gives the public the opportunity to view this sculpture from all angles, and is complemented by the new park surroundings with the civic offices as a backdrop.
