VANDALS TARGET LUKE STATUE FOR 8TH TIME..
Thugs daub Free Palestine
COUNCIL crews have had to clean a statue of Dubliners legend Luke Kelly after it was vandalised for the eighth time in five years.
The sculpture is located near the star’s childhood home in the capital at the corner of Guild and Sheriff Streets along the North Dock.
The tribute to the musician, who died aged 43 in 1984, was unveiled by President Michael D Higgins in January 2019.
The council had been considering the “temporary or permanent” removal of the €80,000 bust of the singer following the last spate of attacks.
These included blue, black and red paint being sprayed and dabbed over the face and hair of the sculpture.
The latest attack saw Free Palestine sprayed in green paint on the plinth.
Independent councillor Christy Burke, who lives in the north inner city, “condemned” the vandalism and pleaded for the artwork to be left alone. The clean-up costs on the site due to vandalism have so far cost more than €3,000.
Gardai and council officials are investigating as CCTV has been placed close to the spot following previous attacks.
Officials had been aiming to finally complete the statue later this year with inscriptions from Kelly’s songs.
Plans have been in progress to finish the bottom section in marble where inscriptions are to be placed.
The wording will include the titles from four songs and writers.
These are Scorn Not His Simplicity by Phil Coulter, Dirty Old Town by Ewan Maccoll, On Raglan Road by Patrick Kavanagh and The Sun Is Burning by Ian Campbell.
The cost of having the work completed will cost
several thousand euro.