WATCH: Launch of Portlaoise 'pill' sculpture on Culture Night

The Portlaoise 'pill' as some have christened the new sculpture on Main Street, got its official launch on Culture Night, Friday, September 22.

"Whether you like it or not, it's here to stay and people will get different meaning out of it," the Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland said.

The artist David Beattie told the large audience that he hopes his piece, a large terrazzo disc and curved seat, will be "a listening point, a moment ot contemplate the sounds of the street".

It has a magical point he revealed, where if a listener sits in the right place on the bench and plays a note, it rebounds back from the disc to them in a perfect note.

The perfect note was set to the launch too, by Laois teen band ANITA, formed of members of Laois Music Generation and fresh from Electric Picnic and Forest Fest. They played out the launch with a professional, energetic pair of songs.

The sculpture gets a thumbs up from three young ANITA fans and LMG members, with Erin O'Dwyer, Ceola Cathcart and Ava Laffan welcoming it warmly, in the video.

Laois County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Paschal McEvoy said he hoped all would enjoy the sculpture along with the beautiful new library. Laois Arts Officer Muireann Ní Chonaill was MC of the event, the first of many free events across Laois for Culture Night 2023.