Man’s axe attack on TV set was ‘conceptual artwork’
Dermot Mulqueen was arrested at lunchtime on Friday in O’Connell Square in Ennis, Co Clare, after gardaí received several calls reporting that a man with an axe was pacing up and down in front of the O’Connell monument.
At the time, the area was busy with shoppers as well as dozens of children on their lunchtime break from local schools.
After a sizeable crowd had gathered in the area, and after taking several swings at a flatscreen television, Mr Mulqueen struck the TV set, leaving the axe imbedded in the screen.
Within minutes, several Garda patrol cars arrived at the scene. Some officers moved bystanders away from the area while other gardaí approached Mr Mulqueen.
The axe was seized and Mr Mulqueen was arrested for possession of an offensive weapon. He was taken to Ennis Garda Station, where he was interviewed before being released without charge.
A short video of gardaí moving in to make the arrest later appeared on Facebook, while another clip showed a man taking several swings at a TV set before striking it.
Mr Mulqueen had posted a message on his Facebook page saying he would be in O’Connell Square on Friday.
Mr Mulqueen has said: “I was arrested after creating a conceptual Artwork entitled ‘Liberation of the Mind’ by swinging an axe through my television at the O’Connell monument. The artwork was created on International Holocaust Hoax Day.”
Gardaí confirmed that a file on the incident will be prepared and forwarded to the DPP.
