Finglas Remembers
A hero with nowhere to stand
The statue is finished. The people of Finglas paid for it. All we ask is to let it stand in Kildonan Park. Stand with us. LMMC8-2016@outlook.com
“We in the Finglas community raised every penny ourselves. We engaged Brendan Walshe as our Artist, who has since passed away. And now the Council is telling us to find our own location for Kevin.”
Martin Deegan, Chairperson, LMMC
Take action
Share using #KevinBarryFinglas and tag @DublinCityCouncil
Our aim
We want to see a permanent statue of Kevin Barry stand proudly in Kildonan Park, here in Finglas. The statue is finished. It was paid for by local people. It was made by a local artist. All we are asking is to be allowed to place it where it belongs, in the heart of the community that has carried Kevin Barry's name for over sixty years.
How it all began
It began in 2020, the centenary year of Kevin Barry's execution. Local residents asked the committee to consider a memorial. We agreed on one firm condition: that the community itself be asked and give its consent. The proposal was put forward to the Sculpture Dublin Project in 2020, to support the upgrade of Kildonan Park. During a global pandemic, our volunteers went door to door across 1,134 households. Eighty four per cent said yes. Every penny was raised by local people and local businesses. The statue, a two metre high composite work of a young Kevin Barry coming home from the playing field with his wolfhound Cu, was sculpted by the late Brendan Walshe of Celbridge, cast by Art Foundry Cast Ltd. in Dublin, with a Wicklow granite column by Ryanstone of Blessington. Kevin Barry's own family stand behind this project. His grandniece, Niamh Barry, recorded her support on camera.
The wall we keep hitting
In 2020, Sculpture Dublin set aside the community's wishes and placed a contemporary steel piece in the very spot the community had chosen, at a cost of over 109,000 euro of public money. In October 2025, the Dublin City Council Commemorative Naming Committee reviewed our formal offer to donate the finished statue to the city. In February 2026, we were told the work did not meet the criteria because it had not gone through an open competition, and the community was advised to find private property instead. There is a difference between general public consultation and the consent of a local community. An email address is no proof of address or residency. Our mandate came from signed consent gathered in person across 1,134 households. The Council's own policy allows finished works to be accepted in exceptional circumstances, and we believe this project meets that test many times over. The artist has passed away. It was created during a pandemic. It carries an 84 per cent community mandate. It was funded entirely by local people. And it is endorsed by Kevin Barry's own family. The Luke Kelly statue on South King Street was accepted with no open competition, and Clare County Council removed a piece of public art, the Puca, that lacked public consent.
The story so far
2020 - The committee is founded on the centenary of Kevin Barry's execution. The consent canvass gathers 84 per cent support across 1,134 homes.
2020 to 2024 - The community raises every penny. The statue is created in Brendan Walshe's forge and the four part documentary is filmed.
October 2025 - The DCC Commemorative Naming Committee reviews our offer to donate the statue to the city.
February 2026 - The work is refused and the community is told to find a private site.
12th March 2026 - The committee issues its press release.
24th March 2026 - Councillor Gavin Pepper moves a motion to place the statue in Kildonan Park.
Today - The statue stands finished and ready, still waiting for its rightful place in the park.
What we are asking
We are asking Dublin City Council to convene a formal exceptional circumstances review through the Public Arts Officer, and to sit down with the community to resolve this. We are asking our Dail Deputies for Dublin North West, Paul McAuliffe TD, Dessie Ellis TD and Rory Hearne TD, and all our elected councillors, to stand with the community that elected them and to defend local democracy and the will of the people. And we are asking you, our neighbours and friends, to follow the campaign, share the story far and wide, and let your local representatives know that this matters to you. Together we can bring Kevin Barry home to Kildonan Park.
Finglas Remembers
Bring Kevin Home to Barry
Bringing Kevin Barry home means honouring our heritage. LMMC8-2016@outlook.com