City on alert after ‘statue stalker’ strikes again

AN alert has gone out in Limerick after a so-called ‘statue stalker’ struck again.

The stalker has carried out well-planned acts of vandalism in the dark of night.

City officials fear the stalker may now attack the statue of Richard Harris, erected last week in the city centre.

One of the city’s most famous statues, The Singer from Quimper on Cruises Street has been removed for major repairs as a result of an attack by the statue stalker.

That statue was erected to mark the city’s twinning with the French city of Quimper.

The stalker may also be responsible for an attack on the statue of Patrick Sarsfield located in the grounds of St John’s Cathedral.

Director of services with Limerick city council Pat Dowling was responsible for overseeing the Harris statue project. He said yesterday: “If the Harris statue is damaged all we can do is try and fix it again.”

However, the statue stalker faces being traced very quickly if he directs his campaign at the Harris monument.

The statue located in Bedford Row is covered by the city centre CCTV system. This is linked to Henry Street Garda headquarters where a bank of monitors are checked 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, in a special control room.

The plinth of the Singer from Quimper is undergoing repairs and will be put back in place at its site in Cruises Street in the next few weeks.