Monument to Kilkenny man who designed The White House is defaced

A monument paying tribute to the Kilkenny architect who designed the White House, home of the US President, has been defaced.

The vandal has scrawled the word 'Slaver' across the ornamental limestone information panel -  an apparent reference to Hoban's legacy of owning slaves. Enslaved workers played a vital role in building the President’s House and the Capitol Building.

Kilkenny People's Callan correspondent John Stapleton notes: "You ask the question what was the logic in defacing a monument dedicated to a man that designed wonderful buildings as well as the White House in Washington DC. It was just awful to see that somebody has defaced the James Hoban memorial in Green Street with what looks like spray paint.

"Like so many people of the time, James Hoban did have links to slavery, and this has been widely documented, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's acceptable to deface memorials of people from this era. There were a lot of wrongs done throughout history and James Hoban came from a very different era where slavery and other wrong doings were acceptable, but what happened last week on Green Street is beyond acceptable.

"It doesn’t mean slavery was acceptable, but with other more testing issues in society today, lets honour the man for the great good he did and his lasting legacy."