CHILDREN around the world have grown up hearing Oscar Wilde’s famous fairytale of the statue of a prince that enlists the help of the swallows living at his feet to provide aid to the people of the town he overlooks.
Wilde was inspired to write The Happy Prince during his time at Portora school in Enniskillen, where his dormitory window had a view towards Cole’s Monument. To this day the little swallows can still be found in flight around the statue at Forthill Park, overlooking the town.
In recent years this literary connection, along with the town’s other connection to a famous Irish writer – Samuel Beckett – has been recognised through the Happy Days Festival, and a special art installation that has seen 150 little golden swallows installed on buildings around the county town.
Enniskillen BID and the Happy Days team recently hosted a special evening at the Killyhevlin Hotel to celebrate ‘The Flight of the Little Golden Swallow’, where they thanked the local businesses who have been taking part in and revealed plans to develop the project further.
Highlighting the close relationship between Happy Days and her team, Enniskillen BID’s Noelle McAloon outlined how the swallows project had been of great benefit to the town, helping increase footfall, enhancing a sense of civic pride, and giving people another reason to visit the town.
“The Swallows each have a story that relates to the building that they are located on, this imaginative concept works so well with the marketing of Enniskillen as a truly unique place,” she said.
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