Protesters who painted the Pride flag on a statue of IRA chief Sean Russell have been told to "educate themselves" on the man who some regard as a Nazi sympathizer.
Images of the statue in Fairview Park, Dublin emerged on social media on Tuesday morning with the graffiti of the LGBT flag marked across its front as Pride month enters its final week.
The colours on the flag included black and brown which shows solidarity with members of the LGBT community who also fight against racial inequality.
This month marked Pride month, however the Pride march planned for Dublin was moved online due to Covid-19 restrictions on mass gatherings.
The Sean Russell statue has been mired in controversy in recent weeks due to Russell's connections to Nazi Germany.
And members of Ógra Shinn Féin, who came to clean the statue, claim those responsible were wrong to target the monument.
One of the cleaners, Ciarán, told the Irish Mirror: "I suppose it was an act of vandalism but it was done out of a few misconceptions that people have about Sean Russell and my encouragement for the people who did this is to educate themselves a little bit about the history of Sean Russell and the true history of what happened rather than this alternative story that has taken place over the last couple of weeks.
"We're in the context of things that are happening over in the US and England with regards statues and a lot of Irish people get trapped in the mindset where they feel like we have to copy what's going on in these countries.
"Now, obviously the statues that are in question in America and in England are slaveholders, slave traders, Confederate generals, this type of thing and Sean Russell was in the total opposite camp of that spirit.
"Sean Russell was an anti-imperialist fighter, he was a fighter for freedom, not against freedom as these statues in America have been, so I would just encourage people to read up on his history and Irish history in general."
He added that the volunteer cleaners removing the paint are not against the LGBT movement.
He said: "I have to say, we are total supporters of LGBT rights, however, we don't think this was the right course of action to take to express that type of solidarity, that type of support for LGBT people."
Russell, who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising, died while on board a German U-Boat in 1940 while travelling to retrieve arms from Nazi Germany.
The IRA chief has been branded a Nazi sympathizer due to his dealings with the nation during World War II but those who support the statue feel Russell was anti-fascist and was seizing an opportunity.
Since its placement in Fairview Park in 1952, the statue has been vandalised continuously and recent questions have been raised about whether it should still be in place.
Speaking about racism in Ireland earlier this month, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the removal of the statue may have to be considered but that it would "have to come down legally".
The statue is maintained by Dublin City Council and owned by the National Graves Association.
A council spokeswoman said: "Dublin City Council has a duty of care for all our public sculptures and statues.
"The Council is taking immediate action to remove the paint from the statue and plinth."
The National Graves Association has been contacted for a statement on the recent painting of the statue.
