FabSwingers.com forum: Ireland removing statues of Prince Albert

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Committee will today deal with a request seeking the removal of a statue of Prince Albert from the grounds of Leinster House.

The statue of Albert, who was married to Queen Victoria, is currently situated on the Merrion Road side of government buildings.

Have we become as bad as America now ????

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By *ercuryMan
over a year ago

Grantham

They already removed it's partner statue of Queen Victoria (it now resides in Sydney).

If the Irish see it as a symbol of the old British rule, then so be it. (Prince Albert was German). I hope that they replace it with something more appropriate, rather than leave an empty space.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"They already removed it's partner statue of Queen Victoria (it now resides in Sydney).

If the Irish see it as a symbol of the old British rule, then so be it. (Prince Albert was German). I hope that they replace it with something more appropriate, rather than leave an empty space."

Replace it with Angela Merkel ?

It's bull it should be left there it's part of our past like it or not ,

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Committee will today deal with a request seeking the removal of a statue of Prince Albert from the grounds of Leinster House.

The statue of Albert, who was married to Queen Victoria, is currently situated on the Merrion Road side of government buildings.

Have we become as bad as America now ????

it was a sad day when hey removed some statues of Robert Edward Lee

simply removing/wiping out history

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By *illwill69uMan
over a year ago

moston

I remember O'Connell St when you could still see the bullet holes in the facade of the GPO and the look round an see Nelson's Column. An iconic Dublin landmark and part of Irish history destroyed to make a political statement. I pass no judgement on the artistic merits of such things nor on the political significance of their removal. But what I do say is once they are gone they are lost for ever, and they do represent a significant part of Irish history. Maybe it would be a better idea to erect plaques that explain their political significance rather than destroy the symbols of your past.

I would add that those who fought the British State in 1916 and the Black and Tan War (my parental grandfather being one) did not destroy the symbols of British rule because they thought it was important that symbols remained to remind the Irish people of their history (warts and all). Maybe the Irish people should follow the lead and respect the decisions made by those who fought to set you free.

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By *illwill69uMan
over a year ago

moston

"it was a sad day when hey removed some statues of Robert Edward Lee

simply removing/wiping out history"

Not the same...

The statue you refer to was erected in the 1960's as a 2 finger salute to US Federal anti discrimination laws. If the statues being removed in Ireland were erected in modern times removing them would not be an issue but they have been there since Victoria's time and therefore are in no way similar.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Another pointless act!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

if they rule that it should be removed will ireland offer it to britain like they did with the statue of victoria 60 or so years ago? and will britain tell them they don't want it like they did with the statue of victoria? will australia say they want it in 40 years time like they did with the vicky statue? or will they just smelt it down and make it into a statue of an irish icon such as terry wogan or dana or bono?

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By *ercuryMan
over a year ago

Grantham

It's taken 95 years for one person to take exception to it!

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By *ara JTV/TS
over a year ago

Bristol East

I couldn't make up my mind about this type of thing, until I learned what happened in Ukraine.

When it was part of the USSR, they had the customary statues to Lenin, Stalin etc.

When it became independent, they had the same debate about history and how to move on from it.

Their solution was to create a heritage park and move all the statues off the squares and streets into it.

I thought that was a great idea - it doesn't erase the history, but it does allow society to move on without a daily reminder of a past that may be very divisive.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

they have thrown the petition out mostly owing to the fact that the Dáil doesn't own the staue so are powerless to remove it .... so a technicalitly saves them from having to make a decision anyway ... as you were

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By *hetalkingstoveMan
over a year ago

London

Removing statues does not 'erase history'. If not having a statue to something or someone means we somehow don't know about it, then we better start building a hell of a lot more statues.

A statue can certainly be educational but they are not built only for that purpose, and they are not the only ways that history can be taught in public spaces.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"it was a sad day when hey removed some statues of Robert Edward Lee

simply removing/wiping out history

Not the same...

which statue, do you have in mind I was referring to

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By *xplicitlyricsMan
over a year ago

south dublin

I dont think the Irish particularly care if the statue remains. But there are far more significant figures in Irish history than Prince Albert ao if they were replacing him with someone of greater significance then the move would make sense.

Rather than it be erasing history it would be an opportunity to better represent it since Prince Albert didnt actually have any significance to Ireland or do anything of historical significance in or with Ireland.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The colston on hall in Bristol re opens in 2020 with a new name and sheds it's slave owners name.Still not enough for a city built on the slave trade.

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