A defaced Union Jack flag, part of an exhibition of work by British artist Jamie Reid, was stolen from the City Arts Centre in central Dublin on Saturday and thrown into the Liffey.
The work, titled Reclaimed Union Jack, was hanging in the window of the centre on Moss Street when two men stole it around lunchtime, a spokeswoman said. They were later seen throwing the flag in the river. It has not been recovered.
The flag had a hole burned in its centre and carried images of a skull and cross-bones. "A certain amount of people objected to the fact that the flag was defaced and others objected to the display of the British flag in any form," said the spokeswoman.