The plaque to 'Fr Noise' is due to be removed by the council after the Sunday Tribune last week revealed that it had been erected as a prank.

The council was unaware of the plaque's existence and had no record of a 'Fr Pat Noise' ever having existed.

However, Kevin Humphreys, a Labour party councillor, has called for a public competition to determine which historical figure should be commemorated on Dublin's landmark bridge, and will submit a motion to this effect to the council next week.

The fake plaque to Fr Noise was erected in the hole left on the bridge by a plaque for the Millennium Clock, which lasted just a matter of weeks in the mid-1990s.

"We should ask the people of Dublin who they would like to see commemorated on the bridge, " said Humphreys.

"We've had Fr Pat Noise, which was a hoax, and we've had the Millennium Clock, which was certainly a hoax because it never worked, so it's time we commemorated a real person who had a connection to this city."

Despite the council being unaware of the plaque's presence, it emerged this week that the plaque to Fr Noise has been on the bridge for two years, having been erected in 2004. Video footage sent to RTE News on Wednesday showed the pranksters placing the plaque on O'Connell Bridge.

Although they did not reveal their own names, the pranksters did reveal that the name 'Fr Pat Noise' is a play on the words Pater Noster, which means 'Our Father' in Latin.

The picture on the plaque claiming to be that of Fr Noise is believed to be based on one of the people who created the plaque.

Although the identity of the pranksters has not been made public, it is believed that art students may have been responsible.

Council officials were unaware of the plaque's existence until they were tipped off by the Sunday Tribune. Officials were baffled by the plaque and launched an investigation to determine whether it was fake or geniune. However, on Monday evening the council released a statement confirming that the plaque was "not an official plaque and will be taken down".

Vox pops conducted by television stations over the week suggested that many Dubliners were in favour of keeping the plaque despite its lack of historical relevance.