By Róise Collins

A BELOVED giant lobster has returned to his home, perched on a wall, overlooking the Burtonport harbour.

The giant red crustacean, measuring close to eight feet in length, had been fixed to the outside of The Lobster Pot for close to 35 years.

But late last year the original lobster was damaged when a lorry accidentally reversed into him, not once but twice.

“He didn’t stand a chance,” laughed owner Tim Bechtold.

“It didn’t knock him off the wall completely, but it was enough to make him a danger. We had to cordon him off before finally taking him down.”

Now, thanks to a careful reconstruction, the lobster is back, with a few subtle updates.

“He looks almost identical,” said Tim. “Just a little leaner than before, so he’s not as obstructive.”

For months a glaring gap was left on the familiar wall and the giant lobster’s disappearance didn’t go unnoticed by locals and visitors.

“Prior to him being removed people would say, that thing’s in my way, I bumped my head on it,” Tim said.

“And then the minute he was gone it was ‘what happened to him?’”

Tim, who is originally from the United States, runs the business with his wife Anne Kelly. The Burtonport native has been a part of the family run restaurant for over 40 years. Together they have been at the helm for 25 years.

Bringing the lobster back to life was a real community effort. The rebuild was carried out by local craftsman Alan, who previously worked at a nearby fibreglass factory.

“Alan did a great job of reconstructing it and making it physically and structurally sound, as well as artistically lovely,” Tim said.

Once the structure was complete, local artist Kevin Gallagher stepped in to give the lobster its finishing touches.

Kevin has a unique connection to the restaurant as his grandfather once owned the business before Anne Kelly’s father purchased it.

The original lobster, who is now something of local legend, was crafted decades ago by a group of Donegal based artists.

Tim believes they were students from the college in Letterkenny who approached the proprietor at the time.

“He made the deal that he would buy it from them if they could get it on the wall, and they did,” he said.

And as the saying goes, the rest is history.