Landmark Portlaoise statue in "horrible" state
Then-cathaoirleach Cllr Pádraig Fleming pictured beside the James Fintan Lalor monument, at a wreath-laying ceremony in June 2024. Photo: Michael Scully
A STAINED statue of a famous Laois patriot was described as “horrible” at a council meeting.
The poor condition of the James Fintan Lalor statue in Portlaoise, outside Laois Co Council headquarters, was strongly criticised by councillors at a meeting in county hall.
The publicly-funded sculpture of the 19th century writer and revolutionary was erected 18 years ago, beside the busy James Fintan Lalor Avenue. It was unveiled in December 2007 by then-Tánaiste Brian Cowen, to mark the bicentennial year of Lalor’s birth.
The condition of the monument was highlighted by Cllr Marie Tuohy at the September meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District Council (MDC), when she asked for the statue and stone plinth to be cleaned.
Enquiring whether specialist cleaning would be required, she said: “This statue was erected on a site given by the council and the council commissioned it, so we should look after it and maintain it. Given the importance of the history, it’s important that it is well kept.”
Cllr Tommy Mulligan agreed, saying that the statue is an important landmark in the town and the famous patriot is an important figure in local and national history.
Cllr Paddy Buggy noted that the monument’s deterioration was evident at a 175th anniversary wreath-laying ceremony last June, which coincided with a visit by delegates from the city of Franklin and Williamson County in Tennessee, which are twinned with Laois.
Cllr Buggy said: “Its condition came home to me when the Americans were here and we had a photo taken beside it. It looked horrible.”
Cllr Buggy added that he was approached by the Lalor Clan regarding the condition of the statue and he spoke to the council’s corporate affairs department about the need to organise cleaning.
In a written reply to Cllr Tuohy’s proposal, Irene Delaney from corporate affairs said the council ‘will arrange for the matter to be investigated further’.
Senior engineer Wes Wilkinson told the MDC meeting that materials used in the monument are being examined, in order to ascertain the correct approach to cleaning.
Cast in bronze by Mayo-based artist Rory Breslin, the sculpture depicts Lalor as having stepped down from his plinth to be among his people. The unveiling ceremony marked the culmination of months of work by Laois Co Council’s Arts Office and the James Fintan Lalor Commemorative Committee.
