11 / 5 / 00


Head in a bag

There is a famous writer from the West of Ireland called Padraig O' Connaire. He uses descriptive devises to write about more ephemeral issues. His writing is subtle. There is an equally famous representational stone statue of him in the centre of Galway. It is a kitsch tourist attraction that people sit on, far removed from his writing. It is almost invisible to Galwegians. Gradually over the years his hat and nose have been chipped. However more recently, to public outrage he had his head stolen. The local papers clamored for an explanation and the return of the head. Two young lads were eventually caught loading his head in a hold all on a bus bound for Armagh. His head had to be put in a hold all under threat of transportation to the other side of the country to make him visible again. I wonder was there an increase in his readership after the incident. I hope so.