A 35-year-old man, originally from Claremorris, is at the centre of a heated debacle following the placing of two nude portraits of the Taoiseach in the National Gallery and the Royal Hibernian Academy, with the prospect that the secondary school teacher, who now resides in south Dublin, may face prosecution for the hoax, with a file being prepared for the DPP.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Conor Casby confirmed he had painted the pictures and said they were intended to be an anonymous and non-profit comment on the use of modern media and added that he wished to bring the project to an end “by offering the portraits to the highest bidder” and donate the proceeds to charity.
Fine Gael TD, Enda Kenny, said that the response from Government was a “complete over reaction” and that the prank was noting but “political satire” and a “bit of craic”.
