The People’s Garden in the Phoenix Park is home to a magnificent statue of Sean Heuston, one of the sixteen men executed for their role in leading the 1916 uprising.
Only a short walk from Heuston, one comes to the the remnants of a memorial to the old order in the form of the plinth belonging to the statue of George William Frederick Howard, the 7th Earl of Carlisle. Born in Westminster in April 1802, Howard had served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on two separate occasions in the 1850s and 60s. It was one of several statues targeted by militant Irish republicans in the decades following independence, bombed in July of 1958. Lord Gough, who also stood in the Phoenix Park, was badly damaged by an explosion the following year.
The statue was unveiled by Earl Spencer, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, on May 2nd 1870. Paid for by public subscription, newspaper reports give an account of a rather unusual ceremony. It was noted for example in The Irish Times that:
There was no formal ceremonial, and no display of oratory. It was rightly felt that to touch upon all the merits of Lord Carlisle would be impossible, and that it was better not to speak imperfectly of his character and deeds.
John Henry Foley was the sculptor. The location of the statue, inside the People’s Garden, was chosen as the Earl had contributed towards the People’s Garden as a place for “the recreation and instruction of the poor of Dublin.” The statue showed the Earl of Carlisle in the robes of the Grand Master of the Order of Saint Patrick, and The Irish Times noted that the statue, as a work of art, “is not unworthy of the known fame of the artist.”
The statue sat upon a granite pedestal, still with us today. Within this pedestal was a marble slab, which read:
George Wm. Frederick, seventh Earl of Carlisle, K.G
Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1835 to 1841;
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1855-1858 and 1859 to 1864
Born 1802. Died 1864.
On July 28th 1958 an explosion would cause serious damage to Foley’s work. It was reported the following day that the statue was embedded two feet in the soil next to its pedestal, giving some idea of the power of the blast. The Irish Republican Publicity Bureau came forward immediately to distance itself from the explosion.
Within a month of the Carlisle statue being bombed, a monument in Stephen’s Green to the 13th Earl of Winton was also targeted by republicans. Unlike explosions prior to it against symbols of British rule in Ireland, the explosion in Stephen’s Green almost resulted in a loss of life, with a civilian and two Gardaí lucky to come away with their lives. The Irish Times noted after it that “the great Tsars were guilty of real tyranny; yet the peasants and the workers of the Soviet Union have allowed their monuments to stand in peace.”
So called “Irish Republicans” started by blowing up statues and continued by blowing up the economy.
PS: I’m hearin rumours that Lord Gough might be on the way back to the Phoenix Park.
I reckon that one compromise might be to put the statue of Gough and his horse back but not to put his name on it. Then it would be there for its artistic merit and republicans shouldn’t regard it as offensive.
Donal,
Do you know anything about any of the attacks on the monuments in Dun Laoghaire? There was an attempt to blow off the crown on the obelisk at the pier in either the seventies or eighties. Also, a local man pulled the crown off the top of the Victoria monument some years ago with the help of a tow-truck as far as i know. It has since been restored. I must check the newspaper archives.
Dun Laoghaire is on the list! The tow-truck story is something else.
I seem to remember that happening during the 1981 H-Block hunger strike.
Great stuff. Looking forward to it.
I think the Dun Laoghaire incidents were related to the H-Block protests.
As you note there was a republican campaign against monuments in the 50s, but it wasn’t the work of the IRA. Their Army Order No. 8 actually forbid such activities in the 26 counties. The bombings were the work of the breakaway Dublin group around Joe Christle, which later linked up with Saor Uladh.
Cheers Brian for that. Yep, we’ve made it clear the IRA weren’t responsible, but its funny how in the popular memory or folklore these things are always attributed to the IRA of the day! Recommend any good source re: the breakaway group? Dun Laoghaire is pretty far down the list but we’ll get around to it. Cheers for the comment as ever.
It seemed a natural progression from plaques, laneways and just about everything else to have a stab at the statues. There was particular interest in a few, for example the controversy over College Green and the coverage ‘The Nation’ gave to the proposed Albert monument there which I think might have been the first. A proper look at Albert, plus Sean Heuston, William Smith O’Brien and a few others ahead.
There’s been very little written on the Dublin breakaway- some in Bowyer Bell’s Secret Army and John Maguire’s book on IRA internment in the 50s. The recently deceased Gery Lawless was involved. They linked up with the Tyrone based Saor Uladh (who also lack a proper study) during the Border Campaign. I think they also fired on Gardai during one of their statue demolitions, which was also of course against IRA orders. It makes perfect sense that ex-members of the group blew up the most famous statue of them all, Nelson’s Pillar. And as you say, people (and some books) still attribute that to the IRA.
Yep, I think that incident must have been the Stephens Green bombing less than a month after this one, as newspaper reports noted Gardaí were lucky to escape with their lives. Fascinating.
I hope the Gough statue stays where it is, it’s safer with us.
Just seeing this post now! I have a family heirloom photo of a relative as a young girl with her pal, taken in 1932, in the People’s Gardens, with the statue in the background. Love John Henry Foley’s work. Ever noticed how all the male statues have the same stance i.e. Goldsmith, Grattan and Burke??
Talking to an aunt recently, she recounted the story of the time Queen Victoria had her balls blown off in an explosion in the 1950s. The attempt to destroy her statue ( in Dun Laoghaire ?) only succeeded in destroying the four balls beneath the plinth and the statue remained in tact. Lovely picture though of the monarch running around looking for her balls, all 4 of them.
In the first part of the article you state that it was July 1956 and in another July 1958, which one is correct please.
Some more photos of his fall from grace and recovery
https://www.irishphotoarchive.ie/search?I_DSC=Lord%20Carlisle&_ACT=search&I_DSC_AND=t
It seems he was not melted down and can be found in Castle Howard gardens.
https://www.alamy.com/statue-of-george-william-frederick-howard-7th-earl-of-carlisle-by-irish-sculptor-john-henry-foley-in-the-gardens-of-castle-howard-uk-image442425552.html