larryni.me.uk

I nearly fell flat on my back laughing when I picked up a copy of the Foyle News on Wednesday morning. The front page was dedicated to Paddy ‘Bogside’ Doherty’s plan to erect a 160 foot high statue of St Columba (that’s higher than the fricking Statue of Liberty minus its base!) on an artificial island in the middle of the Foyle, complete with 2 lifts up to a viewing point and accessible via a foot bridge from the Waterside and a ferry from the Cityside.

The Foyle News hasn’t got a website, but here’s Friday’s Derry Journal article (same publisher):

The director of the Inner City Trust, Paddy ‘Bogside’ Doherty, has said he’s delighted with the local support for his idea of a £15m statue of St Colmcille in the River Foyle. And he said Manchester United wouldn’t get a decent footballer for the same money!
Mr. Doherty told the ‘Journal’ yesterday: “All I can say is that whenever I try to do anything in this town, I get the support of everyone. This project seems to have touched people’s imaginations, and it’s going to be hard work, but let’s do it together.”

By Julieann Campbell

The visionary idea has received widespread media attention and created much public debate since Paddy ‘Bogside’ Doherty presented the concept to Derry City Council earlier this week. Details of the ambitious St. Colmcille statue were first headlined in Wednesday’s ‘Foyle News’. Now it seems clear that if Council gives the project the green light, Derry could gain a huge landmark and a world-class tourist attraction for many generations to come.

Paddy said he was pleased at the attention the River Foyle Project has received since the images were made public. And speaking of the £15 million price tag for such a project, he added: “If Manchester United were buying a footballer tomorrow, they wouldn’t get a good one for £15m. It is not a lot of money for what it is going to produce. It is an investment which will – hundreds of times – pay that money back to us.”

St. Colmcille’s connection with Derry goes back many centuries and actually gave the name Doire Colmcille to the city in past centuries. Now the saint could dominate the riverscape, standing 160 feet tall. The Statue of Liberty stands more than 300 feet in the air, although half of that is the base.

Local sculptor, Maurice Harron, the artist responsible for many other highly-acclaimed sculptures in Derry and beyond, was initially sceptical about the project. However, he now believes the feat can be achieved over two years, using a 20-strong team.

Mr. Harron went on: “We envisage there would be a viewing platform inside – around about the neck area or shoulder area. This would give a 360 degree viewpoint. There would be river taxis to take people from the Cityside, from the Guildhall, and city council offices over, and a bridge to the Waterside.”

After I recovered from the laughter reality set in and I started getting pissed. A visionary idea my arse!

Every single person I’ve been talking to thinks this is the most ridiculous idea and complete waste of money. Who’s going to have to pay for this monstrosity? Paddy Bogside? Hardly. Derry City Council with tax payers’ money more likely. We’re being told that it will cost £15m. Where the fuck is the council going to take £15m from? We’re always told there is no money for anything. And will £15m be enough? Probably not. If there really were £15m available then how about doing something for the young people in this city that will actually be of use. Fort George has been lying empty since the British army left. How about transforming that into a skate park as so many have been campaigning for for the past years? How about investing it in the regeneration of the city?

Also from the Foyle News:

During his presentation, Mr. Doherty described the structure to Council as “an attempt to create a haven of peace on the centre of the river which divides the city, where both Catholics and Protestants together can meet and appreciate historic shared Christian heritage.

“The iconic building on the River Foyle, representating Columba, will represent a new image of the city to the world.

What bullshit. Seriously Paddy, the last thing this city needs to unite catholics and protestans is a religious icon!

And Derry might be the second biggest city in Northern Ireland, but it is way to small for something like this. You know what this reminds me of? These small towns and villages you come across in the middle of nowhere in the US who pride themselves as having the largest frying pan or shopping trolley in the world.