The vandalism of the beloved Luke Kelly statues in Dublin has been slammed as “thuggery of the biggest description”.
The scathing comments from Independent councillor Christy Burke came after two of the statues, one on South King’s Street and another on Guild Street, were found with white paint splashed on them.
This is the sixth time the bust of the Dubliners star on Guild Street has been vandalised since it was put up 18 months ago.
Independent councillor Cllr Burke said: “My thoughts are I'm very sad this morning for Luke and his family and his fans throughout the world.
“And indeed I’m saddened further for the late Gerry Hunt who saved up and who had the second statue commissioned and unveiled for Luke. He passed before it could be done.
“But look, they're acts of mindless vandalism, thuggery of the biggest description.”
He added that the Council has no intention of removing the statue from the corner of Guild Street and Sheriff Street.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sarah McInerney, he said: “Could you imagine moving Luke on a loader, driving up Sheriff Street, going to a new destination? It would be like an eviction from where he was born and reared.”
The second statue on South King’s Street had been designed by sculptor John Coll and paid for by graphic artist Gerry Hunt who passed away in 2018.
Coll told RTE radio: “I think there are a lot of young people out there who have a lot of time on their hands and maybe [they are] a little bit frustrated, just looking for something to do.
“If you’re making a public sculpture, you have to take into consideration that anything can happen to it. And unfortunately graffiti is a part of the urban thing, you know?”
But he added that there was no permanent damage done to the statue.
He said: “One of the great things about bronze is it is bloody indestructible. The paint is just on the surface.
“We’ll use a paint cleaner on it, peel it off, Luke will get another coat of wax, and he’ll look as good as the day he went up a year and half ago. It’s a little bit of a distraction but it doesn’t really affect the piece.”
A garda spokesman said the gardai are investigating both acts of vandalism but no arrests have been made so far.
Earlier this month gardai confirmed two men had been arrested in connection with separate attacks on the monument in January and March.
For the latest news and breaking news visit dublinlive.ie/news.
Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on Twitter @DublinLive - the official Dublin Live Twitter account - real news in real time.
We're also on Facebook/dublinlive - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the capital.
