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In Pictures

PHOTOS: The statues of Our Lady around Ireland

Big and small, humble and grand, and so familiar we hardly notice them.

THERE ARE HUNDREDS of statues of the Virgin Mary dotted around Ireland – on housing estates; at schools; near churches or railway crossings.

Most were put up in the Marian Year of 1954, when entire communities mobilised to erect a statue for their area.

Some have since fallen into disrepair – but many remain well-kept and regularly maintained by the people around them. Nevertheless their popularity has been on the wane – with the exception of July 1985 when a statue in Ballinspittle, Co Cork was reported to have spontaneously moved.

Photographer Steve Ryan travelled Ireland capturing the Marian statues – as well as Sacred Heart figures and other religious icons – for his exhibition Sometimes They Move.

The results of his work are on display this weekend at South Studios, Dublin 8 as part of the PhotoIreland Festival 2012. But we’ve got a sample of the images for you here:

PHOTOS: The statues of Our Lady around Ireland
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  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

  • Sometimes They Move: The religious statues that are left

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