We Irish did have a history of exploding statues alright. There was a famous statue of Queen Victoria which used to stand, I think, outside the Dail (House of Parliament) long ago. It was removed, put in storage and forgotten about! This probably saved it from a fate worse than detonation. Anyway, when it was rediscovered it was cleaned up and sent off to somewhere safer (Canada, Australia...? Not sure).

The statue of King Billy used to stand in College Green. It turns up in "The Night before Larry was stretched".

Regards