The farmer whose family has supplied the animals for the annual live Christmas crib outside Dublin's Mansion House since it began in 1995 has said he would be willing to meet with the Lord Mayor to discuss her concerns around it.
After more than 25 years running, the crib is no more, having been an annual seasonal attraction outside the Mansion House, the Lord Mayor's Dawson Street residence.
Last night, Dublin Lord Mayor and Green Party Councillor Caroline Conroy proposed to the city council's protocol committee that the live crib be replaced with a more interactive display.
The decision has been welcomed by some animal welfare campaigners, but Fine Gael councillors on Dublin City Council are calling for the plan to be reversed.
Every year, it attracted thousands of visitors young and old, to see the donkey, sheep and goats, and a depiction of the Nativity scene.
"Every year I bring them in, they know the drill"
The animals were all subject to regular veterinary checks and transported each night to their regular farm home in Co Wicklow.
Farmer Fionn Sherlock, of Enniskerry in Co Wicklow, said that he did not receive official notification of the decision from the Lord Mayor, adding that the IFA had contacted the family yesterday to inform them that the animals would not be required this year.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, he said that four animals are brought in every year; a donkey, goat and two lambs.
The same donkey and goat have been in the crib for the last ten years.
"Every year I bring them in, they know the drill," he said.
The local vet always inspects the animals before they are brought into the crib.
"They're certified, they're saved to travel. They're brought in there from 11am in the morning and they come home at 5pm every evening and they're brought home to the farm here in Enniskerry and that goes on for the guts of nine day up until Christmas Eve."
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One programme earlier this afternoon, Lord Mayor Conroy said she wanted to replace the crib with a more interactive display, adding that while the crib had been great and well looked after she "just thought this year we would try something different and give the children and their families a different new experience".
She continued: "Something that would be more interactive, that they would feel more included, that we could have choirs outside on the forecourt, a sleigh they could sit up on and get photos on, a postbox that they could post Santa letters.
"Something a bit more inclusive and a bit more interactive. That is why I came up with this plan for this year on the Mansion House forecourt."
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Speaking on Drivetime, Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan said "you can't have a Christmas without a crib".
"The next thing you'll be telling me you can have a Christmas without a Christmas tree or you can have a Christmas without a turkey. I mean, you can't have a Christmas without a crib."
He said that he is appealing for "common sense to prevail" and said that it is a decision that should be reversed for the benefit of the children in Dublin who would not otherwise see a farm animal.
Additional reporting: Joe Mag Raollaigh
