ENNISKILLEN’S Cole’s Monument is undergoing a “weathering” process to remove the gold leaf gilding that was applied to the 170-year-old statue five months ago.

A local councillor has voiced his concern about relying on the wind and rain to remove the gold gilding, stating that tourists may see the fading statue and “think that it’s not being maintained by the local Council.” Stonemason David Mahon, who is DUP Councillor for Erne North, initially voiced his concern for the stone work back in April when Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) granted permission to the organisers of the Wilde Weekend (an Oscar Wilde themed literary festival) to gild a gold leaf design onto Cole’s Monument.

The gilding was an ode to Wilde’s children’s story ‘The Happy Prince’ in which the Prince tells the swallow to take off his fine gold and give it to the poor. The story goes: “Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey.” Mr. Mahon has been assured by Council officials that the weathering process is going to plan. He tells The Impartial Reporter: “However, I would still be concerned about the length of time it would take to fade off and that it could look quite outrageous. It would look faded as the weathering process continues. People who are passing by and tourists who are not aware of the background story of The Happy Prince may think that [Cole’s Monument] not being maintained by the local Council.” He adds: “Maybe we need more public awareness about why the statue is being allowed to fade.” A Council spokeswoman states: “In a project proposed by the Enniskillen International Beckett Festival to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Cole’s Monument was gilded as a public artwork to accompany the Wilde Weekend festival in reference to the Oscar Wilde story The Little Prince .

“The statue was not painted gold but gilded, i.e. gold leaf was applied. In keeping with the story the gold leaf would, over a period of time and through weathering, be removed to re-reveal the stone. This process is on-going and some of the gilding remains on the statue.” The spokeswoman outlined that the gilding was applied using “a thin layer of non toxic, water based size ... to adhere the gold leaf.” She added: “The gold leaf should weather quite beautifully to eventually reveal the stone. It is being removed by the elements and Council staff continue to monitor this.” Prior to the project commencing, FODC received a written undertaking from the festival organisers stating that the festival was responsible for repairing any damage to the statue and, if weathering does not remove the gilding, the festival would remove it through a pre-agreed methodology and pay the cost.