Swiped statues Crom-ing home

STOLEN life-size busts of William of Orange and Oliver Cromwell have been recovered by gardai.

The limestone statues were found in Co Clare having been looted from Milltown Castle in Charleville, Co Cork, in 2011.

Two stone eagles, which had been mounted on 10ft pillars, were also recovered.

A member of the public contacted gardai after finding them near a derelict outhouse close to Cratloe.

The theft generated extensive media interest at the time but an extensive investigation came to nothing.

The owners had claimed the IRA broke the Cromwell statue’s nose with a hammer in 1921 during the War of Independence.