Survey Data
Reg No
50120134
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Artistic, Historical, Technical
Original Use
Statue
In Use As
Statue
Date
1940 - 1955
Coordinates
317403, 236024
Date Recorded
11/11/2017
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding monument, erected 1951, commemorating Seán Ruiséal. Comprises figurative textured cast bronze statue (current version is 2009), set on octagonal-plan two-tier limestone pedestal and three-step base. Coat of arms of four provinces to upper tier, flanked by faces having names of counties; lower tier has scroll to front face with subject's name and status, flanked by faces bearing eulogies, in turn flanked by faces inscribed with names of comrades. Located in Fairview Park, addressing Annesley Bridge Road.
Appraisal
The emotive appearance of this cast statue and the fine detailing in the carved base are evidence of its high artistic quality. The tall base makes it an imposing feature in Fairview Park, visible from all directions. Seán Ruiséal had been a head of the IRA in the early twentieth century and his monument has been the gathering point for many republican commemorations. However, his divisive character, and association with the Nazis during the Second World War, has resulted in the statue being attacked and vandalized on various occasions. The statue was replaced in 1965, with a lowered arm, replacing the previous clenched fist. Following an attack in 2005, when the statue was beheaded, a replacement, by Willie Malone, was unveiled in 2009. The current iteration depicts him with his hat in his hands. The east side of Annesley Bridge Road, now Fairview Park, which was originally tidal mud flats, was used for landfill in the 1900s, before being developed into a park in the later 1920s.