Up Went Gough

  In 1957 the Statue of Lord Gough was blown up, presumably by the Dublin Brigade, though no one has specifically claimed it (unlike Nelson' Pillar 9 years later).


"The equestrian statue of Lord Gough in Phoenix Park, Dublin, was blown to pieces early this morning. The explosion was heard all over the city, and in the police depôt about a quarter of a mile away men were blown out of their beds. The figure now lies on top of a heap of rubble and is damaged beyond all repair. This statue has always been the centre of trouble. Years ago (Dec 24, 1944) the head was sawn off and the sword removed. Later, after an appeal by art lovers in Dublin, the head and sword were recovered from the River Liffey near by and were replaced. About a year ago an explosion damaged the base of the monument and one of the horse's legs, and the statue was kept in position by the aid of a wooden support."
-The Times, 23 July 1957

Gough’s Statue
By Vinnie Caprani

There are strange things done from twelve to one
In the Hollow in Phaynix Park,
There’s maidens mobbed and gentlemen robbed
In the bushes after dark;
But the strangest of all within human recall
Concerns the statue of Gough,
’Twas a terrible fact, and a most wicked act,
for his bollix they tried to blow off!


’Neath the horse’s big prick a dynamite stick
some gallant ‘hayro’ did place,
For the cause of our land, with a match in his hand
Bravely the foe he did face;
Then without showing fear – and standing well clear-
He expected to blow up the pair
But he nearly went crackers, all he got was the knackers
And he made the poor stallion a mare!

For his tactics were wrong, and the prick was too long
(the horse being more than a foal)
It would answer him better, this dynamite setter,
The stick to shove up his own hole!
For this is the way our ‘hayroes’ today
Are challenging England’s might,
With a stab in the back and a midnight attack
On a statue that can’t even shite!

(Times quote from http://www.turtlebunbury.com/family/bunburyfamily_related/bunbury_family_related_gough.html)