Star Trek Fans Launch Petition For Statue In Miles O'Brien's Honour
Could Trekkies have a new travel destination in the Chief's hometown of Killarney, Ireland?
At some point in the far future, on a planet perhaps thousands of lightyears from Ireland, Miles (Edward) O'Brien already has a gigantic, golden (holographic) statue befitting his status as "perhaps the most important person in Starfleet history". In the present, and on this planet, life is now imitating art. One fan, Seán Ó Dálaigh, has given up his own buffer time in order to see a statue erected of the Chief in his future birthplace of Killarney, County Kerry (in September 2328).
At time of writing, the Change.org petition launched by Ó Dálaigh has over 1,000 signatures from those wanting to support the cause, with the next goal set at 1,500. More than merely an effigy of the Professor of Engineering (by the last we heard), Ó Dálaigh wants the statue "to honour the vision of Star Trek and the work of Meaney," to serve as a message of hope to stand "at the centre of one of the most beautiful regions of Ireland, if not the galaxy…" Do anything so much as a Google search, and you won't fail to agree with the latter!
As for O'Brien's Killarney place of birth, that was first mentioned by Michael and Denise Okuda, in the second edition (1996) of their work Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. Though not repeated on screen, the idea has stuck with fans ever since. Moreover, as our own Seán Ferrick pointed out in an interview for Lunchtime Live with host Claire McKenna on Irish radio station Newstalk (skip to 1hr 30 to listen), there is a good deal of precedent when it comes to honouring our favourite Star Trek characters in their own likeness.
Indeed, Captain(/Admiral) Janeway (2336, as per The Autobiography of…) has a bronze bust in her hometown-to-be of Bloomington, Indiana, to which Kate Mulgrew paid a visit. Before that, the whole city of Riverside, Iowa, rebranded itself "Future Birthplace of…" the captain who just worked in outer space. There, you can find a 2228 (though actually 2233) marker in stone for James T., his statue in bronze, and pay a visit to the Voyage Home museum, all whilst celebrating the annual TrekFest. Finally, let's not forget the (already so-named) town of Vulcan, Alberta, which, in 2010, was "formally recognised as the 'Official Star Trek Capital of Canada'," with Leonard Nimoy visiting the same year to unveil his own bronze bust as Spock. Perhaps Colm Meaney, one of Ireland's own and greatest actors, would do the same?
A statue of O'Brien in Killarney would surely be a hit for tourism, therefore, and above all else, it seems only fair that one of the enlisted, with an ancestor also named Seán (Aloysius) — a hero of a 'union man' — get his shot at immortalisation next. So, if you can, sign the petition. It's time for the suffering of O'Brien to end by virtue of bronze or other material!