1901 – Statue of William Conyngham Plunkettt, Kildare Place, Dublin

William Conyngham Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket (1828-97) was Dean of Christ Church Cathedral and Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland. Well connected in Irish society, he had married the daughter of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness. He was instrumental in developing the Kildare Place Schools, the Church of Ireland teacher training college which faced this statue. Interestingly the dates on the plinth are for the duration of his office not his life. The sculptor Sir William Hamo Thornycroft RA was an English sculptor, responsible for some of London’s best-known statues, including the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster. His other work in Ireland is at Belfast City Hall.