Ballindine grotto statue broken on N17

Ballindine grotto statue broken on N17


Michael Commins

A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was taken from its grotto and smashed on the N17 road just outside Ballindine last week . The incident, which shocked local people, is understood to have taken place between 6am and 7am on Monday morning.
The roadside grotto, along the main Ballindine to Milltown road, was erected in the Marian Year of 1954. A Mrs White, who came back from America and who was a relation of the Rhatigan family in the village, pioneered the idea to have the shrine erected at this spot. It is one of the best-known grottos on the main Sligo to Galway road.
Local people have maintained the shrine for more that 50 years. In all of that time, not a single person had interfered or damaged the shrine in any way until last week.
“People around here were saddened to think that someone could do such a thing. Our Lady of Lourdes statue was taken and thrown on the middle of the main N17 road and smashed in bits. It was a large statue, about four foot tall. The statue of St Bernadette was not touched at all nor were the plastic flowers. The glass door was not broken either. We are now on the lookout for a suitable replacement statue and we hope to secure one over the coming weeks for our grotto,” said a local resident.