Statue of Queen Victoria in hospital complex should be fully clean this week after being vandalised in paint attack
The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have confirmed that cleaning works should be completed by the start of this week after a statue of Queen Victoria was vandalised.
The statue named after the late monarch, which sits in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital, was vandalised last week.
Republican group Lasair Dhearg posted a picture on social media on Friday afternoon appearing to show one of its supporters pouring red paint over the statue.
When asked for an update on the statue and if it could possibly be relocated so it’s not vandalised again, a spokesperson for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust replied: “A specialist graffiti removal company was brought in on Friday, February 27 and temporary fencing has been put in place until cleaning works are complete, which is going to be early this week.
“We are not in a position to respond to the long-term protection and potential relocation of the statue.”
In an accompanying post, Lasair Dhearg said “Belfast activists” had paid a visit to the “Famine Queen” – a reference to the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century.
“British monarch Victoria oversaw the Great Hunger and the decimation of the Irish population as millions perished and emigrated,” it stated.
“In a socialist republic all the symbols of Empire will be stripped from the land; street names, statues, institutions and those that will stand against the people organising for a better future.
“Only the fight for a socialist republic can bring about the end of occupation and imperialism in Ireland.”
DUP Assembly member Phillip Brett said the vandalism was an “utter disgrace”, whilst Ulster Unionist Assembly member Alan Chambers voiced his rage that “it is utterly irresponsible that scarce resources will now have to be diverted to clean up this mess”.
Mr Chambers added: “Those responsible have shown a clear disregard not just for our shared public spaces, but for the patients and staff who rely on the Royal Victoria Hospital every day.”
In a statement last Friday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it received a report of criminal damage on the Grosvenor Road site in west Belfast.
They confirmed to the News Letter on Sunday that their enquiries into the incident remain ongoing.