The Wexford Whale
Drawing & Animation Project

In April 2021 David Begley gathered driftwood at The Burrow, Rosslare and Rosslare Harbour in order to bake driftwood charcoal for 5th and 6th class pupils at Scoil Mhuire Rosslare. Assisted by Nadia Corridan, David facilitated drawing and animation workshops with the children to explore the story of Ned Wickham and the whale which stranded at the mouth of Wexford Harbour in 1891. The children learned about the history, heritage and culture of Rosslare Fort, Ned Wickham's life, enjoyed drawing at the Burrow beach, Rosslare – reimagining Wickham's first sighting of the whale – drew scenes from the story of the whale, learned how to animate in charcoal and created some astonishing work.

Featuring charcoal drawings and animations made by the children as well as drawings by David, 'The Whale' is a short black and white film which will be ready for screening in December 2021. 

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David would like to thank Andrea Doyle of The Rosslare Ancestry Project, Des Peare, Leo Coy at Rosslare Harbour Maritime Heritage Centre, Billy Doyle at Rosslare Burrow Lifeboat Memorial, Gerry Wickham, Richard Sabin at The Natural History Museum, London, Nadia Corridan, Francis Long, Gráinne Doran archivist at Wexford County Council, teachers Liam Lawlor, Eilish Kavanagh, SNA Aileen McGee and principal Anne Marie Carty at Scoil Mhuire for all their help and support during the project. Scroll down to see drawings by pupils of 5th and 6th class!

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To see drawings made by 5th and 6th class pupils click here!

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To read the tale of the whale click here

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The Wexford Whale is a 'Creative Connections Ports Past Present' project.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Cooperation programme.