The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Kieran O’Reilly has made an emotional appeal for the return of the head of Archbishop Patrick Leahy (1801 to 1875), latter which was decapitated and stolen from his statue in June last.
The 14-foot-high statue, constructed in 1911, stands in the grounds of the Cathedral of the Assumption here in Thurles and has left Gardaí to date totally mystified by the act of wanton vandalism, with no motive for the theft having ever been established. The body and plinth, latter which supported the now headless statue, remains surrounded by a grey wooden hoarding since it was vandalised.
Archbishop O’Reilly is now very anxious that the head be returned so that parishioners can proceed with repairing the statue, the body of which today stands protected prominently in the courtyard at the front of the Cathedral.
A reward of €1,000, held in cash, in a bank account, by website Thurles.Info continues to remain immediately on offer to any person (Informant will be dealt with in the strictest privacy and confidentiality), who can offer any morsel of information, which might lead to the immediate recovery of this decapitated head.
I HOPE SOMEONE COMES FORWARD WITH INFO
Does anyone have any high quality photos front-on of the head (before it was vandalised obviously) and one of the side as it could be easily reconstructed in 3D using various software programs with just 2 photos. I have had a look on the net and can only find the same picture from the same projection. A mold could be 3d printed with pla and a temporary or permanent concrete head could be put back in-place. It’s not ideal but better than nothing.