A 16-foot bronze statue, which was commissioned as part of the Ballymun Regeneration Project, was unveiled today.
The monument of a local girl dressed in a tracksuit on the back of a military-style horse has been temporarily installed outside the local secondary school.
Three years ago, when she 17, Toni Marie Shields was asked to model for a statue.
Today, now aged 20, she got the first glimpse of her teenage self immortalised in bronze.
The statue was supposed to be located on the Main Street in Ballymun, but plans to construct Metro North got in the way.
And some locals objected, saying it was not a good image for the new Ballymun.
The local secondary school, Trinity Comprehensive, agreed it could be located there.
Labour Councillor John Lyons said the statue should not be moved to the Main Street as reinforced negative stereotypes of the area and represented the old rather than the new Ballymun.
But the Director of the Axis Arts Centre, which commissioned the piece, says it is not supposed to represent the locals but to provoke discussion and debate.
He said the statue will be relocated to the Main Street of Ballymun whenever Metro North is completed, which they hope will be within the next five years.
