Maureen O’Hara statue ‘not a good likeness’ as refund given – FOI

A local authority sought a refund of a €33,000 grant after a statue of Hollywood star Maureen O’Hara proved “not a good likeness” and could not be used.

However, Cork County Council ended up accepting €26,250 and the unused statue.

While this meant “we have €6,750 worth of bronze cast into a statue”, the council “have something to show” for the investment, a senior official said in correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The council had given Glengarriff Tourism and Development Association the grant for the project in November 2018. The statue of the Dublin-born actress was to be unveiled in the town, which had become Ms O'Hara's adopted home.

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However, the sculpture subsequently proved “unacceptable” to the local authority and was not considered “suitable for installation”, according to internal records.

With most of the money returned, plans have begun for a new statue to be cast by a different sculptor.

That has not been without issues either however, according to records from Cork County Council which said further “artistic differences” had arisen.

A note of a meeting said: “In recent conversation with the [local] group I have learned: that the [second] sculpture is not completed, and they have some artistic differences with the second sculptor.

“They are now looking for a third sculptor to provide a statue; ground works for the statue have been put in place in Glengarriff since 2018.”

The council recommended, however, that they stick with the second sculptor and get the statue completed once and for all.