A Clare Peace Park Initiative to erect a First World War memorial in honour of the Clare men who served and died in the conflict has been granted planning permission.
The development, which will now proceed in partnership with the council, is on 0.1 hectares of land at Causeway Link, across the road from Glór, in Ennis and will consist of three standing stones, with inscriptions, which will be surrounded by about 100 square metres of paving with pathways in and out of the memorial site.
The group’s chairperson, Dr Keir McNamara, is pleased that the initiative has been granted permission and would welcome further sponsorship to ensure the project can get off the ground as quickly as possible.
“If we could get in the last bit of money we need, there’s no reason it couldn’t be completed by the end of this year. If we have a slower response to the fundraising effort, we would probably be looking at the middle of next year and the big anniversary of the Battle of the Somme,” Dr McNamara said.
Clare Peace Park Initiative has a number of sponsorship options, should people wish to help the fundraising.
People can donate directly to the Clare Peace Park Initiative, directly into their bank account; sponsor a personally-engraved paving brick in front of the memorial – at a cost of €50; sponsor a stone bench at the site at a cost of €1,000; corporate and group sponsorship of memorial plinths costs €100.
“People can also help at committee level,” Keir McNamara said. “Join our Facebook page as a friend or like us and share our page to help spread the word of what we are trying to do. If you would like to get involved or wish to get more information, feel free to make contact. We are on Facebook as Clarepeaceparkinitiative. Friends of the Clare Peace Park Initiative are needed to help with and support our fundraising efforts,” said Dr McNamara
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.