What an imaginative project! If you have ever visited Dublin, you know the city is littered with statues (perhaps festooned is a more accurate word. Or better yet: adorned!)–every time you look up or around, there is another one. Dublin and Irish history is in these statues, of course, but there is Dublin’s literary history as well. And now 10 of these statues will talk to you!

The concept relies on cell phone technology and QR codes or web links. Eventually, as you stand before your statue, your phone will ring and the statue will talk to you!

On The James Joyce page at the Talking Statues website, Gabriel Byrne tells us:

“Usually, contemplation of a statue is a one-way affair. In this case, the interaction provides a new kind of dialogue which almost seems to make the statue come alive.”

And here he is, giving voice to James Joyce, with words by acclaimed novelist Roddy Doyle:

From the Talking Statues website:

Talking Statues Dublin has been funded by Fáilte Ireland, with additional support from Dublin City Council, An Post, the Abbey Theatre, Trinity College Dublin and Audible.co.uk. Arts producers Sing London have commissioned some of Ireland’s most celebrated writers and actors to bring Dublin’s statues to life.

Fáilte Ireland is Ireland’s official tourism office and they are going to make a lot of tourists very happy indeed with this new project. And there is a rumor that more statues will learn to talk next year!

Several outlets in Ireland shared the news, including Indepedent.ie, The Irish Times, and The Irish News.

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