‘Even Isis’ would spare holy well from demolition, says Kerry councillor

A Sinn Féin councillor who made the front page of this week’s Kerryman for saying “Even Isis” would have spared a Kerry holy well from demolition works, has defended his comments.

Pa Daly was quoted in the newspaper as calling on Kerry County Council to explain why the dig on Sunday's Well in Tralee was allowed to go ahead.

“Who the hell authorised the work? Even Isis wouldn’t have done this,” he was quoted as saying at a meeting of Tralee Municipal District.

Kerry County Council says it removed stones from the recorded monument earlier this week due to concerns over public safety.

Defending his claim, Mr Daly, a Tralee-based solicitor, told Newstalk that the remark in no way compared the council to a terrorist organisation.

The comment has since sparked a stream of ridicule online, but Mr Daly stood by the statement when contacted by Newstalk.

“IS have a history of taking down old historic structures they don’t like. This is a holy well - it doesn’t have any images they’d object to,” he said.

Asked if he considered the remark fair, he added: “I wasn’t talking about people being blown up.”

Mr Daly claimed the holy well was partially demolished in the absence of consultation with archaeologists or the National Monuments Service.

Complaints

Kerry County Council said it began work at the site on Monday to “improve public safety” in what is a “busy residential area”.

“Following complaints, and in an effort to improve public safety, [we] agreed to carry out remedial works.

“The works involve the installation of a grill/mesh over the opening of the well to improve safety, ie to eliminate the risk of people falling/climbing in and also to limit litter or items being thrown into the well as the well opening has often been heavily littered.

“During the works, a number of large stones which formed a vaulted arch, which are not believed to be part of the original construction, were removed and are being replaced using lime mortar.”

The National Monuments Service could not be immediately reached for comment.