A BRAZEN attempt appears to have been made to remove one of the feature antlers on the landmark carved deer sculpture on Killarney’s Port Road.
The antler on the side closest to the road has been bent back significantly in what furious locals believe was an attempt to remove it altogether.
The real antler was sourced in Killarney National Park and it was a painstaking task to locate one of the size required to suit the carved sculpture.
The antler had been pointing skywards but although it hasn’t been detached, it has been forced downwards to the point where it could easily snap off.
Members of the Killarney Looking Good Committee, the driving force behind the provision of the striking art piece, have been informed of the mindless act of vandalism.
The sculpture, created from a rotting Spanish chestnut tree dating back to the 1700s, was officially unveiled in October 2018 and it is one of the most striking and admired pieces of street art in the town.
Depicting a native red deer stag in full jumping pose, it is a very distinctive feature of the busy New Road-Port Road junction, close to the town’s schools and opposite the national park at Knockreer.
It emerged some years ago that the landmark tree at the junction was riddled with Phytophthora ink disease and, for safety reasons, there was no other option but to remove it.
Expert tree sculptor Will Fogarty, of Ballyhoura, Co Limerick, was engaged for the project and the meticulous carving showing a red deer leaping has been admired by tens of thousands of people – including the tidy towns competition adjudicators.
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