Shylock
07-01-2009, 04:48 PM
Excellent news! :thumbsup:
Controversial Statue Provokes Heated Debate
A NEW statue erected at a Northside park has provoked heated debate over one of Ireland’s most controversial historical figures.
The new bronze statue of IRA leader and alleged Nazi collaborator Sean Russell was erected last month in Fairview Park, replacing the previous stone statue which had its head and hand stolen in a politically motivated act of vandalism in 2004.
Cllr Aodhan O Riordain (Lab) said he was horrified to discover that the statue in honour of an “infamous Nazi colluder and IRA bomber” had been unveiled in the park.
“I am outraged that this man is continually honoured in this manner, particularly in light of his controversial past and links with Nazi Germany,” Cllr O Riordain stated.
“I am calling on Dublin City Council to immediately take steps to remove this offensive monument.”
A spokesperson for the city council said the statue isn't owned or maintained by them, adding that the Irish Graves’ Association funded the monument.
Sean Whelan of the National Graves’ Association told Northside People that his organisation would never erect a statue to a Nazi collaborator and stated that Russell had a notable history of fighting against right wing forces.
“The idea that Sean Russell was a Nazi is nonsense,” said Mr Whelan.
“He travelled to Germany, the USSR and the USA looking for guns to fight the British in the 1930s.
“As the chief of staff of the IRA, he was active in preventing Ireland’s own fascists, the Blueshirts, from organising.
“He was a consistent anti-fascist. Many republicans at the time went to Spain and died fighting fascism.
“The only reason people are smearing him now is to try to embarrass republicans.”
Mr Whelan added that the National Graves’ Association have documents that were recently released by the British Government which detail how Russell did travel to Nazi Germany to secure arms but took the weapons with no conditions attached.
The memorial to Russell at Fairview Park was originally unveiled in 1951 and first vandalised shortly after by right wing vandals who claimed the raised right arm was a communist salute and broke the appendage off.
Following this, the damaged arm was replaced posed downward instead of raised, but was removed in 2004 along with the statue’s head by a group who claimed Russell was going to round up Irish Jews in return for weapons from Hitler’s government.
In order to prevent future vandalism the latest statue has a number of high tech features including motion sensors and GPS satellite tracking.
http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/1985/57/
Controversial Statue Provokes Heated Debate
A NEW statue erected at a Northside park has provoked heated debate over one of Ireland’s most controversial historical figures.
The new bronze statue of IRA leader and alleged Nazi collaborator Sean Russell was erected last month in Fairview Park, replacing the previous stone statue which had its head and hand stolen in a politically motivated act of vandalism in 2004.
Cllr Aodhan O Riordain (Lab) said he was horrified to discover that the statue in honour of an “infamous Nazi colluder and IRA bomber” had been unveiled in the park.
“I am outraged that this man is continually honoured in this manner, particularly in light of his controversial past and links with Nazi Germany,” Cllr O Riordain stated.
“I am calling on Dublin City Council to immediately take steps to remove this offensive monument.”
A spokesperson for the city council said the statue isn't owned or maintained by them, adding that the Irish Graves’ Association funded the monument.
Sean Whelan of the National Graves’ Association told Northside People that his organisation would never erect a statue to a Nazi collaborator and stated that Russell had a notable history of fighting against right wing forces.
“The idea that Sean Russell was a Nazi is nonsense,” said Mr Whelan.
“He travelled to Germany, the USSR and the USA looking for guns to fight the British in the 1930s.
“As the chief of staff of the IRA, he was active in preventing Ireland’s own fascists, the Blueshirts, from organising.
“He was a consistent anti-fascist. Many republicans at the time went to Spain and died fighting fascism.
“The only reason people are smearing him now is to try to embarrass republicans.”
Mr Whelan added that the National Graves’ Association have documents that were recently released by the British Government which detail how Russell did travel to Nazi Germany to secure arms but took the weapons with no conditions attached.
The memorial to Russell at Fairview Park was originally unveiled in 1951 and first vandalised shortly after by right wing vandals who claimed the raised right arm was a communist salute and broke the appendage off.
Following this, the damaged arm was replaced posed downward instead of raised, but was removed in 2004 along with the statue’s head by a group who claimed Russell was going to round up Irish Jews in return for weapons from Hitler’s government.
In order to prevent future vandalism the latest statue has a number of high tech features including motion sensors and GPS satellite tracking.
http://www.dublinpeople.com/content/view/1985/57/