Sean Phadraic to resume residency in Eyre Square ‘in a few weeks’

Hopes are high that the Padraíc Ó Conaire replica statue will be unveiled in Eyre Square ‘in the next few weeks’.

The specially-commissioned replacement statue was due to be in place by the end of the Summer, but the installation has been delayed by the need to finalise the most suitable location for it.

BY CAOIMHE KILLEEN

“We are working on finalising the setting,” said Gary McMahon, a spokesperson for the Galway City Council.  Mr McMahon pointed out that while the statue had been finished for several months, part of the delay in unveiling the statue itself was in finalising the location.

The main priority with the location, he said, is to ensure it is protected from potential vandalism, but also accessible to tourists and locals alike.

The City Council is also concerned with finding a reliable base for the statue, as the bronze statue is quite heavy.  As well as that, they are looking for limestone for the base from the same quarry that was involved in the making of the original statue.

“We want the statue to return to how it looked previously.  When people look at old photographs of the original statue, they see it sitting on a wall and we are looking to recreate that setting,” Mr McMahon said, adding that he was hopeful that the statue would be unveiled “in the next few weeks.”

In a letter sent to Fine Gael councillor Pádraig Conneely by Eileen Ruane, Acting Director of Services for Community and Culture last August, it was confirmed that the project had cost nearly €60,000.

The original stone statue was designed by Albert Power, and it was unveiled by Taoiseach Eamon De Valera in 1935. It was originally placed between Richardson’s Pub and Browne’s Doorway.

In 1999, four men from Northern Ireland caused €14,000 worth of damage to it, after they drunkenly knocked the head off the statue. They were ordered to pay £2,000 to the city of Galway as well as a fine of £1,000 after being charged with criminal damage.

Surgery had to be carried out after the statue was vandalised, including work on the nose, fixing the brim of the hat, and cracks along the neck.

In 2004, while the Eyre Square redesign project was underway, it was moved to City Hall, before being relocated to Galway City Museum two years later.  The original statue is still being housed in the museum which is likely to be its permanent home.