A statue commemorating the great Maureen O’Hara has been taken down after just 48 hours after dismayed locals argued it looked nothing like her.
The bronze sculpture, in the picturesque village of Glengarriff, Co Cork, of the Irish movie legend was commissioned by the council and cost €33,000.
The Quiet Man star had a home in Glengarriff and, while she lived in the USA, did spend much of her time holidaying in the village, before moving there permanently.
It was hoped that it would bring cheer to the county as a way of celebrating one of Ireland’s most famous daughters.
However, it didn’t quite go to plan.
After the statue was unveiled, Glengarriff locals were horrified and over a thousand people let their views be known online and demanded it be removed.
They felt the statue didn’t look anything like O’Hara and did the star a ‘disservice’.
After the brutal backlash, the statue was removed without any official announcement, within 48 hours of having been put on display.
It is the second time Glengarriff has attempted to commemorate O’Hara with a statue. The first one didn’t even reach the unveiling stage as it was decided it also looked nothing like the Quiet Man star.
Now the public have decided this second has exactly the same problem.
A Glengarriff local said: “This is like the moving statue of Glengarriff. For whatever reason we seem to have a problem getting a sculptor to make a statue that looks exactly like Maureen and keep everyone happy. I am sure it is a very difficult job to do.
“Sculptors will argue that the piece does resemble her, and in fairness they may have a point, but the locals don’t agree.
“Maybe because the statue is bronze it is difficult to make it so real life and to portray all of her natural beauty. The people of Glengarriff all loved Maureen and are very protective of her beauty and legacy.”
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Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling
