Killarney could soon have a new statue thanks to an online petition to honour a Colm Meaney's 'Star Trek' character.
Meaney played Chief Miles O'Brien in two shows from 1987 to 1999 who, according to 'Star Trek' lore, was born in Killarney, County Kerry in September 2328.
The petition wants to erect a statue of the character in Killarney town "to honour the vision of Star Trek and the work of Meaney".
Colm Meaney originally appeared as a then-unnamed character in the pilot episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' in 1987.
He reprised the expanded role of Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien until 1994 when he moved to its sister show 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' as chief engineer until 1999.
Host of the 'Trek Culture' YouTube channel Sean Ferrick told Lunchtime Live similar statues have been built elsewhere.
"It's one of a number of efforts that have been started by Trekkies - this one has been started by Sean Daly from Cork," he said.
"It mirrors other attempts like [a statue] in Bloomington, Indiana which was the fictional birthplace of Captain Janeway from Voyager and other attempts particularly throughout the States and in Canada."
Actress Kate Mulgrew with a statue to her Captain Kathryn Janeway character in Bloomington, Indiana. Image: Facebook/The Captain Janeway StatueSean said it's an exciting prospect for Irish Trek fans.
"It's a way of galvanising community support around our favourite characters," he said.
"I'm super-excited that this is happening in Ireland because Irish Trekkies really are a breed unto themselves".
Sean said the Edward O'Brien character quickly became a fan-favourite.
"The writers found a lot of the audience tended to identify with him because he was the everyman," he said.
"He was the most down to Earth character possibly throughout the entire franchise.
"There was a couple of reasons for that - [it was] how Colm Meaney played him... and also he wasn't an officer in the way that Star Trek is sort of mirroring the military in space.
"He was not part of the military, he was an unlisted man, which made him that bit more accessible for a lot of audiences".
Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. Image: StarTrek.comSean said the character developed in a way other people could relate to.
"He was a married man, he was a father, in many ways he was the audience on-screen," he said.
"You had Klingons, Borg and Cardassians running around in all the make-up - they're a little bit harder to identify with - whereas this guy was just a standard Irish man [who was] born in Kerry and raised in Dublin".
Sean said the character got put through a lot over the years.
"He was so popular and so identifiable that it almost went against him because the writers loved to make him suffer," he said.
"They realised quickly that if something happened to him the audience really felt it more.
"There became a trope called 'O'Brien Must Suffer' because every year he went through hell".
'Tourism boost'
Sean said he'd love to see Colm Meaney himself get involved in the campaign.
"It would absolutely I think help tourism... other towns have seen boosts in tourism from this as well," he said.
"There's a town called Vulcan in Alberta, Canada and they have a 'Star Trek' monument there.
"In Riverside in Iowa they have a moment to the future birthplace of [Captain James] Kirk.
"There is a tourism boost that comes from this - it's great obviously for us as Trekkies but it's also just a fun thing to see when people are travelling."
Sean added that Star Trek's popularity remains as strong as ever.
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People can view and sign the petition here
