It is now more than 250 years since Nano Nagle walked the
streets of Cork. Her influence through the Presentation Sisters
in these two centuries has stretched far beyond any limits she
herself could have imagined. This icon presents, with all the
power of symbols and color, what mere words can only do
inadequately. The artist, Desmond Kyne, has chosen a youthful
image of Nano Nagle to occupy the center panel, which is alive
with color. Nano stands in calm majesty, and suggests both
patience and endurance. In the center of the icon is the image
of the Sacred Heart, treated here in an imaginative and probably
unfamiliar way. The Sacred Heart was Nano Nagle’s central
devotion. At Nano’s feet is a group of children. Buildings
symbolizing the city of Cork are to either side with the
Southgate Bridge on the left and the Northgate Bridge on the
right. These areas were the center of Nano Nagle’s apostolate
toward children, many of them abused and exploited.The side
panels of the icon elaborate some of the events and