Name: Queen Maedbh / Maedhbh / Maeve (pronounced May-v)
Nickname: unknown
Where: Burlington Road
Coordinates: 53.3327438403533;-6.246993541717529Latitude: 53°19′57.878″N
Longitude: 6°14′49.177″W
Inauguration date: 2004
Sculptor: Patrick O'Reilly

Story:

The story of the power and equality of Celtic women. But also a story of brutality, tackiness, polygamy and power-obsession. Queen Maedbh was a woman ruler in Connacht (west Ireland) about 1 BC. She was known to be beautiful and extremely passionate about love and war. She had her own armies and slept with the army officers and kept them very motivated doing this. We would probably call her a "maneater" nowadays.

The statue symbolises different things. The naked body is a reference to her sexual appetite. Apparently, Maeve could sleep with 30 men a day!

The head of a bull in her right hand symbolises her longing for being the most fortunate in her household and therefor, the ruler. When comparing the fortunes between her and her husband, it turned ou that her husband owned a bull of superior quality and outranked her in fortune. Maeve needed one as well in order to stay ruler of the household. So she went into war for the best prized bull at the time: "the bull of Ulster".

The weapon in her left hand symbolises her as a warrior.

The bird on her left shoulder might symbolise her freedom, maybe also her enchantment.

Notes