''Two Working Men'' () are a pair of

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

s made by the Irish sculptor Oisín Kelly. The piece took Kelly three years to create and was unveiled in front of the County Hall in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in 1969. As with other works of public art in the region, the statues took on a local colloquial name, and are still commonly known as "''Cha and Miah''".

History

''Two Working Men'' became Kelly's second statue on public display, after his acclaimed ''

Children of Lir The ''Children of Lir'' () is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith bringing freedom from su ...

'' was unveiled at

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

's Garden of Remembrance in 1966. That year, Kelly received a commission for a new statue, to be erected outside

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall (), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest building in the countr ...

, which at the time was Ireland's tallest building and the headquarters of the SIPTU trade union. Before the statues were to be moved outside Liberty Hall however, SIPTU deemed that they would pose a traffic hazard. In 2007 Desmond Rea O'Kelly, architect of Liberty Hall, reflected on this lost opportunity: The work was instead unveiled in front of Cork's new county hall building in 1969, which during the time the statues were being made had unseated Liberty Hall as the tallest building in Ireland. (It would remain the tallest building in Ireland until 2008.) The statues were removed for a period during the redevelopment of the County Hall, but were replaced in 2006.

Appearance and legacy

The statues consist of two men, one tall and thin and the other shorter and stout. The shorter man is shown wearing a cap and clasping his hands behind his back while the taller man's hands are placed on his hips. Both men are gazing skyward, ostensibly at the top of the building. The statue's key message is to profile the common "everyday Irish person" admiring the finished product of work in a modern Ireland. In the years after their unveiling, the statues became known locally as "Cha and Miah". The label derives from the names of two "

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

" Cork characters on the ''

Hall's Pictorial Weekly ''Hall's Pictorial Weekly'' is an Irish satirical television series broadcast on Raidió Teilifís Éireann from 1971 to 1980. Regarded as RTÉ's flagship comedy show, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories, politics and popu ...

'' television show which became popular in the early 1970s.

References

{{Cork City Monuments and memorials in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Cork (city) 1969 sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Ireland Irish sculpture Bronze sculptures