Young artists design pieces for Viking board game, Hnefatafl
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Lilly Kennedy with her drawing of a defender game piece, is presented with first prize in the Children’s Art Competition by heritage officer, Melanie McQuade.Image 2 of 4
Leas-cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Dollard and Luke Daly try their hand at Hnefatafl on a 3D-printed model of the Ballinderry Gaming Board and game pieces created by the Discovery Programme, with a 3D print of Luke’s winning design on the centre of the board.Image 3 of 4
Runner-up Jethro Bowers with his drawing, and heritage officer, Melanie McQuade.Image 4 of 4
Runner-up Samuel Gately with his drawing, and heritage officer, Melanie McQuade.The winners of a competition to design an original game piece for the Viking Age board bame Hnefatafl have been announced.
The competition was inspired by the ‘Game Piece’ sculpture in the Tranquillity Garden beside County Buildings. The sculpture, created by Dony MacManus, represents one of the Viking Age game pieces found near Lough Suedy in Ballymore and now part of the collections in the National Museum of Ireland.
Competition entrants were invited to design their own game pieces for the Viking Game Hnefatafl. Congratulations were extended to Luke Daly, who won the 3D design competition, and Lilly Kennedy, who won first prize in the children’s art competition.
The leas-cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Mick Dollard, presented Luke with his prize – a €100 book voucher and a 3D Print of the game piece he designed. Luke, who lives locally, has long been a chess enthusiast and says that he was interested to learn about the game Hnefatafl.
Lilly Kennedy from Castlepollard Parochial School won a €50 book voucher for her drawing of a defender game piece.
Runner-up prizes were awarded to Jethro Bowers (aged 9) and Samuel Gately (aged 10) for their drawings of game pieces.
“We would like to thank all those who took part in the competition,” said Westmeath heritage officer Melanie McQuade.
The competition was part of a project ‘Exploring Viking Board Games Through a Modern Lens’, which was funded by the Creative Ireland Programme from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and the Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Full details of the project are available on the Westmeath Culture website: https://westmeathculture.ie/news/heritage-news/the-gaming-piece/.