Bid to replace Isle of Barra’s crumbling 1970s St Barr sculpture

A statue dedicated to a 6th Century Irish saint who was the inspiration for a Scottish island’s name could be replaced at a cost of £100,000.

The sculpture of St Barr was erected in the Northbay area of Barra in the Western Isles in the 1970s.

It was created by local artist Margaret Somerville, who died in 2018, and over the years its moulded concrete has crumbled away to expose the metal frame underneath.

The Saint Barr Statue Fundraising Group has raised £10,000 so far to pay for a replica to made from hard-wearing bronze and on a larger scale than the original.