Stone mad: Thieves snatch Cromwell and eagle statues

THEY withstood the unwanted attentions of the IRA and well over two centuries of inhospitable weather, but statues of Oliver Cromwell and William of Orange in a Co Cork estate have fallen to a gang of thieves.

Two eagles carved from limestone were also taken by the late night gang at the Milltown Castle near Charleville, Co Cork.

The statues were placed at the entrance to the estate in 1775 by the Bruce family.