Peace Tree in St Anne’s Park

THE sculptor who carved the intricate Peace Tree in St Anne’s Park which was set alight by vandals says efforts are being made to clean and restore it.

Tommy Craggs, who created the iconic piece using a chainsaw, admitted the damage was worse than first feared – but it’s not beyond salvaging.

He was commissioned to create the striking sculpture in 2014 by Dublin City Council after the mature tree was found to be dying. It took three years to complete.

• Learning for Life: Minister Simon Harris speaks about department plans
• Programming, athletic gear and more: Dublin’s winners at BTYST
• Bohernabreena native Waldron raising the bar and the finger
• New hairdressing course a ‘game changer’ for new stylists
• Loving Motoring: New Ford Focus ST is ‘Seriously Thrilling’

He said: “Sadly it is a little worse than I first thought… the scorching is 2-3cm deep in places. There will be detail lost on the turtles and octopuses tentacles.

“But with a good wire brushing to remove the black and a delicate sanding it will not look as bad. The shapes will still be there and maybe the detail could possibly be recurved.”

Lord Mayor of Dublin Tom Brabazon (FF) condemned the deliberate vandalism and appealed to anyone with information to come forward to Gardai.

He said: “This is a beautiful sculpture enjoyed by adults and children alike. It’s so sad to see something like this happen.

“The sculpture was made from a dying Monterey cypress tree and features woodland animals and birds, some of whom have their home in St Anne’s Park and the nearby Bull Island.

“It also includes marine life reflecting Dublin Bay.”

• Learning for Life: Minister Simon Harris speaks about department plans
  Our future is in our own hands and the Covid-19 pandemic has brought this into stark…
• Programming, athletic gear and more: Dublin’s winners at BTYST
  Dublin students were recognised and commended at the first ever virtual BT Young Scientist & Technology…
• Bohernabreena native Waldron raising the bar and the finger
  Playing at a cricket World Cup in the Caribbean one month, umpiring Australian national finals the…
• New hairdressing course a ‘game changer’ for new stylists
  A National Hairdressing Apprenticeship is being launched to help train new stylists with the first nationally-recognised…
• Loving Motoring: New Ford Focus ST is ‘Seriously Thrilling’
  By Declan Glynn Back in 2002, Ford launched their very first fast Focus, the ST170. Based…