Naomh Pádraig – Séamus Murphy
I’ve walked past this imposing head of St Patrick countless times since I arrived in Maynooth, seven and a half years ago, but it was only last week that I found out a bit about it.
The statue is called Naomh Patrick (Saint Patrick) and it was created by Irish sculptor Séamus Murphy. It is on public view in St Patrick’s House, Maynooth, just inside the main entrance. It is made of polished limestone and was first unveiled in 1949. Here is an old newspaper article in which the photograph on the right shows the artist beside the sculpture…
(The picture on the left seems to show the artist, on the far left, dozing off during a speech…)


March 24, 2026 at 11:04 am
If he were alive today I think he would be a cert for the beard of the year, based on that statue.
March 24, 2026 at 12:06 pm
It’s amazing that he achieved as much as he did despite only existing from the neck up…
March 24, 2026 at 12:17 pm
People liked him because he was never a threat to anyone. He was armless.
I’ll get me coat.