Ireland

‘Outstanding in its field’: Boris Johnson among scarecrow festival entries

Craftsmen and women put many hours of work into creations for 10th year of festival

Liam Dermody, from Wicklow, takes a selfie with Boris Johnson in a public toilet at the 10th Durrow Scarecrow Festival, which takes place annually in Durrow, Co Laois, Ireland. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Sun Jul 28 2019 - 19:56

A scarecrow depicting newly appointed UK prime minister Boris Johnson in a public toilet has gone on display in Co Laois.

Durrow Scarecrow Festival is known for its wry take on current affairs and in previous years has featured representations of US president Donald Trump. And last year a depiction of Pope Francis in his popemobile ahead of his Irish visit won joint first prize.

Chairwoman of the festival Evelyn Clancy described it as being “outstanding in its field” and said it has “gone from strength to strength” over the years.

“We have some iconic scarecrows this year,” she said.

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One entry, which depicted Mr Johnson facing Mr Trump, was entitled “the spitting image of each other’. Another entitled “Rocket Men” featured Mr Trump as well as Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a reference to the talks on the nuclear threat posed by that country.

Skilled craftsmen and women have put many hours of work into their creations for this year’s event, the 10th year of the festival.

One creation featured the Beatles on Abbey Road. There was also a Marilyn Monroe-themed scarecrow and a giant version of Irish boxing champion Katie Taylor in the ring also entertained festival-goers.

Another involved a depiction of The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel by author Margaret Atwood about women’s rights which has also been turned into a TV series. The entry was entitled “the Handmaid’s Bale”. – PA

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