Moving statue – Sean Phádraic off to Dublin for cloning

In his own time he was transported by his Asal Beag Dubh – his little black donkey and cart – but moving Pádraic Ó Conaire these days is a much more technical affair.
Which is why a team of experts descended on Galway City Museum this week to gently move the famed Galway writer from Galway to Dublin, so that a bronze replica can be cast to return the iconic statue to Eyre Square.
The original limestone figure was taken from the Galway City Museum on Monday night to make a silicon mould in four pieces in a foundry in Dublin
A wax piece will then be produced from the moulds before the replica sculpture is created using LG3 bronze in the foundry.
Tenders are being invited from Irish foundries to create the piece, the cost of which has not been publicised pending the awarding of the contract.
At a meeting in June, council officials indicated that the replica could be bound for the south western corner of Eyre Square, on the same side as the Skeff pub and hotel.
The original was situated between the Browne Doorway and Richardson’s pub before it was removed in the Eyre Square revamp and put in storage due to concerns over ongoing vandalism. At one stage the statue had its head knocked off by pranksters.
Since 2004, public representatives have pleaded for the return of the iconic Galway landmark to its original home. The only compromise reached between councillors and officials was the transfer of the statue from storage to a prime position in the museum.
It was only when councillors allocated money in the budget to pay for a replica that the project finally got off the ground.
Galway City Council official Gary McMahon said there was a long struggle to remove the heavy statue from the museum.
“He obviously didn’t want to leave it,” he quipped.
The statue of Padraic Ó Conaire – one of Galway’s most famous writers and journalists ‘as gaelige’ – by the sculptor Albert Power was an integral part of Eyre Square for locals and tourists for decades.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.