Council admits road sculptures are not insured

MAGNIFICENT road sculptures are among dozens of public artworks that remain uninsured in Co Kerry.

Most were created over the past 20 years by top Irish and international sculptors in an arts scheme.

The value of the works run into millions, but Kerry Co Council admitted they are not insured.

The council, it emerged, is in negotiations with insurance companies on cover for some of its most valuable pieces.

Most of the work erected under the scheme and attached to infrastructure such as roads, bridges and treatment plants, would never be insurable, the council said.

It emerged yesterday the council had resorted to its own surveillance methods to safeguard the works.

Works such as Eamonn O’Doherty’s bronze To the Skellig on the outskirts of Cahersiveen along with Australian sculptor Mark Rode’s four-metre high bronze football sculpture erected in 2007 at the entrance to Tralee, have become tourist attractions in themselves.

Around 30 pieces have been erected in the county and some, such as the football sculpture, cost in the region of €250,000, according to the council.

The council, in a report sought by Tralee-based Cllr Norma Foley, divulged it had been unable to secure insurance “at an acceptable cost”.

Cllr Foley said she was concerned, in the light of thefts elsewhere, that public art in Kerry was uninsured. “I want the council to take all necessary precautions to protect and safeguard from theft all pieces of public art sponsored by this local authority,” she said.

The report indicated an inventory was being conducted and officials were in talks with insurance companies about providing cover for a small number of valuable and sensitive pieces in urban areas.