WEXFORD CO. COUNCIL will foot the bill for repairs to a statue which cost over €120,000 to construct and was unveiled less than three years ago.
While there are plenty of people who remember the great days of Wexford hurling in the 1950s, many will be surprised to hear that Nickey Rackard has managed to break a hurl in 2015. The Rackard statue in Selskar Square has been fenced off due to a crack in the hurl part of the sculpture, which would have been in danger of breaking off had action not been taken.
Borough District Manager Angie Laffan was alerted to the damage by some of the local traders in the area and a fence was quickly erected around the statue to prevent further damage being inflicted.
Speaking to this newspaper, Ms. Laffan said that the original fear was that the statue had been vandalised but this was ruled out quite quickly due to having CCTV in the area which offered a clear picture of the statue.
Contact has been made with the sculptor and repairs will be carried out in the coming months.
However, for those keen to take a clear picture of the sculpture they will be disappointed as the security fencing will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve been advised to carry out repairs when the weather has improved so it will be within the next two to three months but the barriers will remain in place until the work is completed.”
[Full, exclusive story in this week’s Echo]