Tag Archives: memorial

A MEMORIAL site dedicated to Clare’s war dead has been damaged and littered in recent days with one “disgusted” local councillor describing those behind it as “cowards”. One of four stone benches which have been installed at Clare’s World War 1 memorial in the Clare Peace Park near glór has had a piece broken off in recent days. Rubbish left in the area has also become “an ongoing issue” according to Dr Keir McNamara of the Clare Peace Park Committee. Efforts are now being made to repair the damage to the stone bench ahead of the annual remembrance service for those who lost their lives in World War 1 this November. Fortunately the glass memorial itself was not harmed. Councillor Mary Howard, a member of the Clare Peace Park committee, hit out at those behind the damage at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District this week saying she felt “disgusted when this happened”. She continued by describing the culprit …

A NEW memorial which remembers all those from Clare who were involved in World War II is to be dedicated in Ennis this weekend. The memorial at Friars Walk includes the names of 62 people from Clare who died in the Second World War, and includes six women. This will be the first time their contribution has been permanently acknowledged in the county. Also included in the memorial are the names of nine RAF airmen who died in air accidents in Clare and four Irish defence personnel who died in the county while on duty during the war. An addendum of World War I names which have come to light since the memorial to the Great War was unveiled in 2016 in the Peace Park is also included. Construction of the World War II memorial has been delayed since 2020 due to Covid19 restrictions, but the members of the group behind the project in the Clare Peace Park Initiative are …

KILRUSH historian Rita McCarthy, who investigated the operation of the County Clare Nursery on the Cooraclare road in the town, believes it is unlikely that any babies are buried on or close to the site. It follows revelations of the discovery of human remains at the site of the Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway. The nursery in Kilrush is one of the mother and baby homes nationwide that is part of the Mother and Baby Home Commission of Investigation, which was established on February 17, 2015 and is chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy. The home in Kilrush was operated by Clare County Council from 1922-1932. Ms McCarthy told The Clare Champion that she could not yet reveal details of her contribution to the report, which is likely to be published in 2018. “I can’t talk about the specifics in that report because that is subject to the commission releasing it. But before that, I had done quite …

Commemorations have taken place all over Europe this year, marking the centenary of the beginning of World War I. The Great War raged for more than four years, ending on November 11, 1918. On Tuesday, the anniversary of Armistice Day, Irish soldiers were remembered in South Galway. Commemorative badges, manufactured and designed by students in Gort Community School, were distributed at a ceremony of remembrance, as students and staff recalled the forgotten Irish volunteers. Young people in fourth year conducted a project with the goal of remembering the 150,000 Irish who fought in the war. Their project was cross-curricular taking in a number of subjects and departments. “As part of the project, they looked for a symbol to represent the volunteers but the only symbol they came across was the poppy. Many of the class were unhappy to use the poppy, as they felt they wanted to have something original that would remember just the Irish,” explained history teacher and …

A number of Clare victims of the Great War were remembered by the members and friends of the local Roger Casement Branch of the Organisation of National ex-Servicemen and Women (ONE) during their annual visit to Flanders and the Somme, which coincided with the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the commencement of World War I in 1914. The members of the Roger Casement Branch, all former members of the Irish Air Corps, were making their sixth successive visit to the battlefields and memorials to participate in the various ceremonies and to visit the graves of some of the victims. The group of 19 members and friends was led by Paddy O’Meara, a former chairman of the branch and presently the deputy chairman, who has been a resident of Clarecastle for almost 30 years. Brian Honan, a former member of the Reserve Defence Forces and a military historian from Kilrush, also joined the group. The group took part in the …