The word Gallowglass comes from the Irish: gall óglaigh which means foreign warriors. They were an elite group of mercenary warriors and originated in the Argyll region in the west of Scotland in as well as the Western Isles from the mid-13th century till the late 16th century.
Their Norse and especially Gaelic heritage meant a shared language and customs.
They were mainly employed in Connacht and Ulster by local chieftains to fight the Norman English and each other.
This Warrior sculpture is placed here on account of a strong connection between this area and those warriors. They eventually integrated completely into Irish society at all levels.
The Per Cent for Art scheme is a government initiative, first introduced in 1978, whereby 1% of the cost of any publicly funded capital, infrastructural and building development can be allocated to the commissioning of a work of art. Since 1997 this scheme has been made available to all capital projects across all government departments.