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Bill Clinton

2007

colour photographs

wall text

piece of a bronze sculpture in a secure display case

Bill Clinton, as part of a presidential tour of Ireland, visited Ballybunion in September 1998.
He enjoyed an afternoon playing at the village’s golf course beside the Atlantic Ocean.

Surrounded by tight security, Clinton also walked through the streets to meet well-wishers
and to admire a statue depicting him playing golf. Sculptor Sean MacCarthy based his
study of Clinton’s physique on newspaper photographs. Placed in front of the local police
station, the statue has become a popular tourist attraction in the region.

‘One of the president's balls is missing!’ blared a newspaper headline in August 2005.
A bronze golf ball was removed from the statue. A police spokesman stated: ‘Whoever
stole the ball would have used a tool of some sort to remove it, and may have taken it
under cover of darkness.’

The ball was recently recovered.