FLASHBACK FRIDAY
It was the time when a moving statue led to holy war.
This life-sized Christ the King tribute over the door of the main entrance to Killarney Community Hospital was at the centre of a blazing row in 2010 when the Health Service Executive decided to remove it.
There was an angry public backlash when the statue was taken down to ground level and placed in a small green area near the hospital car park.
The move sparked outrage with many locals insisting that it should never have been touched as it has been a symbol of the religious order that founded the hospital and cared for the sick for several decades but the HSE insisted it acted for safety reasons.
The local clergy released a public statement condemning the move and the decision was also slated by members of the then Killarney Town Council.
The issue continued to fester for some time and a full five years later the council again wrote to the HSE asking that the be returned to its original position but the request was denied.
The statue had been in place in its elevated position for close on 70 years and local councillors said the HSE had not produced any evidence to show the statue was a health and safety risk.
A HSE spokesperson conceded at the time that an effort to accommodate other religious beliefs, with a changing culture in Killarney, had led to the removal of some of the many religious artifacts in the hospital.
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