Ireland PavilionThe pavilion's architectural form was a modern version of medieval round towers that still stand in many parts of Ireland. The entire pavilion was then enclosed by a wall seven feet high, faced in Lisconnor gray stone and reddish brown marble.Two giant maps were in the entry court. The one on the left traced Irish family names to their places of origin. Recordings detailed family histories and gave the Irish pronunciation of those names. The world map on the right, showed the spread of Irish influence. To the left of the entry court, a movie was projected on a circular screen embedded in the floor of the hall. It depicted a low-level airplane flight over Ireland. Visitors, passing through the round tower, reached the main hall where mobiles evoking the names of Irish poets hung from the ceiling. Using headsets, visitors could listen to the words of Irish born writers as George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats. The main hall also displayed Irish arts and crafts (tweed weaving looms, pottery and Waterford glass), country life (horse racing) and industrial development. Outside was a small outdoor theater for performances by Irish dancers and singers. |