Manannán Mac Lir: Sea god statue back on Binevenagh Mountain Published duration 27 February 2016

image caption The replacement statue was designed by John Sutton, who worked on the Game of Thrones TV show

A replacement for the sculpture of a Celtic sea god that was stolen from Binevenagh Mountain has been installed.

Manannán Mac Lir was taken from its spot on the mountain near Limavady, County Londonderry, last year.

Its disappearance was deemed a mystery, until it was found by a rambling group who then sought the help of soldiers on a training exercise.

However, it had been badly damaged, so Limavady Borough Council agreed to replace it.

image copyright MOD image caption The statue was found 300m from its original position, its head had been badly damaged

image caption The sculpture cost £10,000 to replace

Manannán Mac Lir is a sea god from Irish mythology and the statue had become a popular tourist attraction in the area.

Thousands of people joined a Facebook page when the statue was stolen called 'Bring back Manannán Mac Lir the Sea God', and police launched a missing persons appeal.

image caption The disappearance of Manannán Mac Lir sparked a missing persons appeal by police and thousands of people joined a social media campaign to bring it back

The cost of replacing the original sculpture, which was found about 300m from Gortmore viewpoint, was £10,000.

The statue and its replacement were created by John Sutton, who worked on the Game of Thrones TV show.