Is it time for Christy Ring to take flight from Cork Airport and head to the Páirc?

The Christy Ring statue at Cork Airport. This week, the statue was decked out in the colours of Glen Rovers, who claimed the Cork senior hurling crown last month.  

He has been welcoming people arriving in Cork for the past 20 years. But management of Cork Airport are "open" to the famed statue of Christy Ring moving to a new home if a suitable replacement can be found.

The bronze statue of Cork hurling hero Christy Ring created by sculptor Seán McCarthy was unveiled at the airport by then sports minister, the late Bernard Allen, in 1995. The statue moved to its current position outside Cork Airport arrivals when the new terminal opened in 2006, and now welcomes visitors to Cork as they exit the building.

The real Christy Ring himself made a controversial switch from Cloyne to Glen Rovers in 1941. And while airport management remain fiercely proud of Ringy, though are open to his likeness making another move. "Christy is our statue and we like it where he is. But we have offered that if the City Council or the GAA wish to relocate him, we are open to it," said Mr MacCarthy. 

The statue was modelled at the National Sculpture Factory on Albert Road in Cork and cast in bronze by a foundry in Dublin and unveiled in October 1995. Almost a decade ago, Fine Gael Cllr Des Cahill called for the statue to be repositioned outside Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the reopening of the stadium after its €110m redevelopment.  

In recent weeks, the statue has been decked out in the colours of Glen Rovers after the famous Northside club defeated old rivals St Finbarr's to claim the Cork senior hurling championship last month. 

The latest part of the €200m redevelopment of Cork Airport will be unveiled next month, as the new security screening for departures opens, along with the revamped arrivals area.