Brazen thieves steal one-tonne sculpture

A valuable piece of public art located on the Moate interchange along the M6 motorway was stolen last week. The four metre high, bronze and stainless steel piece entitled 'Gráinne Óg', which weighed just over one tonne, was commissioned in 2007 at a cost of €64,000 by Westmeath County Council. Standing on top of a three-metre high concrete base, the sculpture's absence was brought to the council's attention last Wednesday March 16. Staff immediately reported the theft to local gardaí who are investigating the incident and are looking to speak to anyone who witnessed any suspicious behaviour in the area in recent days. It's believed the piece was stolen for its high-value metal content as the price of bronze has increased hugely over the past year. "It's a diabolical crime. It's an attack on the State and on the public - the sculpture was there for the enjoyment of the public," said Athlone Director of Services Barry Kehoe. "It was very disappointing to hear of it being stolen, it is a lovely piece, carefully chosen and commissioned by the council." The shocking incident is the third theft of public art from roadsides to occur in recent weeks, the other two thefts occuring on the M7 at Monasterevin, Co. Kildare reported on March 7, and on the N72 at Rathmore, Co. Kerry reported on February 16. Both of those pieces also roughly weighed a tonne and contained bronze. There is no indication that the gang who carried out the Moate theft is local and given the geographical spread of the three thefts, they could be from anywhere. Ironically, all three pieces that have been stolen were featured in a photography book about roadside art in Ireland, published in 2010, called 'By the Way' by Ann Lane. The sculpture depicted the historical figure of Gráinne Óg who ruled over the area as a Brehan judge in ancient times, and was created by sculptor Ann Meldon Hugh from Meath. It was unveiled in July 2008 when the Kilbeggan to Moate section of the motorway was officially opened and has become a popular piece among motorway art. Her piece was chosen from five submissions after a public consultation in Moate. She said she was shocked when the council informed her of the theft. "I'm really sad, that was months and months and months of work. The piece was displayed in Moate library first and then selected. "The people chose that piece, so the people of the area wanted it and like it, so it had only got good feedback. It wasn't just me involved, there was the foundry and the engineers as well," she said yesterday. She said that removing the piece from the base would have taken a lot of effort, involving an angle grinder and even a crane, before being dragged to a nearby field and chopped up into pieces. "I thought she was safe as houses based on the fact that she was so enormous... I've made so many public art pieces and vandalism hasn't even been an issue," she added. "The amount of people involved and the amount of work involved just for it to be chopped up for scrap... I find that very upsetting that it's completely destroyed and gone." Westmeath County Council had the work of art insured, which is a small comfort. More importantly, the council immediately began a risk assessment of the security of all its works of public art, especially those in more remote locations, and alerted all other local authorities nationwide to secure their own public works of art. Clara Gardaí are investigating the incident, as that particular road falls within the Offaly boundaries. A crime investigation unit visited the scene last week. A garda spokesman said that it appears to be a new sort of crimewave hitting the country.