Manannán Mac Lir statue to be replaced

Councillors in Limavady have voted to reinstate the six-foot Manannán Mac Lir sculpture which was stolen from Binevenagh Mountain last month.

At a council meeting on Tuesday night, Limavady Borough Council voted to replace the stolen artwork with a sculpture "as similar to the original as possible".

The council will approach original artist John Sutton, who worked on the Game of Thrones TV show, to request financial quotes for the replacement and will seek estimated costs for reinforcing the new artwork, to ensure it is more difficult to remove from its mountainside perch in future.

Councillors also agreed to set up a fund to allow members of the public to make donations towards the cost of the reinstatement.

At the meeting, Sinn Féin's Rory Donaghy proposed that the replacement be based as closely as possible on the original £10,000 sculpture. A proposal from SDLP councillor Gerry Mullan - that the sculpture be replaced with a full boat rather than just the boat's hull - was defeated.

Speaking to the County Derry Post councillor Gerry Mullan said that it would be “remiss of the council not to restore the statute.”

“The sculpture was a striking piece of work which attracted people to the area. For that reason it should be restored as close to the original as possible. In a council area that that has been hit with job losses etc it is important that we market ourselves right and the Manannán Mac Lir sculpture was part of our Tourism market.

“We will move into the Causeway Coast and Glens council in March so it is important that we restore the statue as soon as possible so we can compete alongside their various tourist appeals.

“It is imperative that we as a council show leadership and it would be remiss of the council not to restore the statute. The issue was raised that if we replace the statue it could be taken again, I know there is a risk involved but to not replace the statue would be defeatist and that is not the way this council should behave,” he added.

The issue of costs will be discussed in more detail at next month's meeting, which will be the last ever meeting of Limavady Borough Council ahead of its amalgamation into the new Causeway Coast and Glens super council.