Gardaí are investigating the disappearance of a replacement statue of the Virgin Mary from a Galway shrine which has already been targeted by thieves on two previous occasions in less than a year.

The statue, which forms a central part of a popular Marian grotto on a stretch of the N17 between Ballindine and Milltown, was taken from its perch for a third time earlier this month.

Locals had rallied around to buy replacement statues after two previous thefts at the shrine.

Last September, the original statue was left smashed at the scene after an apparent attempt to steal it failed.

After a generous donor offered a replacement, this was installed at the grotto but subsequently stolen last January. It has not been recovered.

Marita Gibbons, whose house is located at the grotto, said the entire community was distressed that the grotto had been attacked in this way. She said it had long served as a "stopping-off" point for passing motorists, who would spend time there and sometimes take photographs too.

"We are all very upset about it, but there is not really much we can do. The statue has been there since the Marian year; it is a community thing and it was being looked after by the community," she said. "It is very upsetting when it is happening outside your own door, outside your own house.

"We just can't comprehend why somebody would do this – after it has been there all these years without anyone touching it."

Locals are believed to be considering putting a replacement statue there for a fourth time, although no decisions have yet been taken.

Another possibility is that, because previous attempts to increase security around the replacement statues failed, a simple picture or other artefact representing the Virgin Mary will be put in place.

A spokesman for the Garda Press Office confirmed it is investigating the disappearance of the statues.

"This investigation is ongoing and to date no one has been charged," he said.