When pigs fly: New sculpture hogs Castleblayney roadside

Well, I never sausage a thing in my life.

This sculpture has been erected on the N2 bypass at Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, and, to its credit, it's anything but boaring.

Northern Sound reports that the leaping pig - which, at a cost of over €56,000, has been controversial since its announcement - was finally put on the roadside yesterday afternoon.

Locals, the radio station reports, are not all pleased.

Castleblayney's flying pig has been unveiled.We get reaction from one local resident who is not impressed.

— Joe Finnegan Show (@JoeFinneganShow) October 7, 2014

The above image is an artist's impression, and we're still waiting on a photographer or passer-by to take a photo of the finished product.

But the more important question for motorists passing by is: why a pig?

The local area at Castleblaney feature the ruins of a church on the east side of Lough Muckno - and the legend of its construction features a pig heavily. The story goes that Saint Maeldoid began to build his monastery on the other side of the lough. Every morning, however, he would find the stones knocked down by a mysterious force.

Lying in wait one night, he discovered it was a black pig, diligently destroying the construction and returning the stones across the lake - to the spot where St Maeldoid eventually built his church.

Roadside sculptures are paid for by public money under the "Percent for Art" Scheme, where 1% of the budget for public project is set aside to provide art and sculpture alongside it (to a maximum of €64,000).

The sculptor, David Annand, won the commission for the artwork, and has previously supplied works such as the Rory Gallagher statue in Ballyshannon.

He was paid €56,000 for the work from public funds - but those funds were ring-fenced for artistic projects and could not be used elsewhere.