Come Here To Me!

Like many people I was taken aback by jaycarax’s post on here earlier regarding the statue of James Connolly opposite Liberty Hall, and what many believed to have been an awful act of vandalism against the work. The sheer level of web-traffic too indicates that a great many people were interested in the story. Personally I found the idea of somebody attacking the monument disgusting, it is among my favourite statues in the city, with the Plough and the Stars behind Connolly complimenting a magnificent sculpture from the late Eamonn O’Doherty. It stands facing Liberty Hall, albeit a completely different building to the one Connolly would recognise!

Thankfully, Liveline have cleared this one up. It should be noted that neither the Council nor Siptu knew anything about this repairs when Lorcan contacted them, and as such the conclusion he (and I and a great many Dubliners) came to that the statue had been vandalised was a logical one. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

LORCAN COLLINS was bringing a group of tourists down to the James Connolly Memorial Opposite Liberty Hall and was shocked to see a large chunk of the Plough had been sawed off. Has contacted the police. Bobby Blount phoned to explain the story of the missing sculpture. It hasn’t been stolen. It is in his foundry for repair. It was a private commission. People were climbing up on it and damaging it. He is a stone sculptor. It will be back in place in the next few weeks.

You can listen back to the Liveline piece here. Fair play to Lorcan ringing in, if anyone hasn’t taken the time to do it yet I can’t recommend his 1916 walking tour of Dublin enough.

Graffiti on a wall of the original Liberty Hall at the time of its demolition in memory of James Connolly.