1916 Memorial, Limerick
The 1916 memorial at Limerick, Ireland, is one of many erected in the Republic of Ireland to commemorate the dead of the 1916 Easter Rising.[1] Located at Sarsfield Bridge, it was first erected in 1954, as a result of fund-raising efforts begun in 1931.[2] The memorial was designed by sculptor Albert Power.
The bronze statues at the top of the memorial represent three local participants in the Easter Rising: Tom Clarke, Ned Daly and Con Colbert.,[3] alongside a figure representing Mother Ireland. The monument is configured around a stone plinth that previously held a statue of Viscount Fitzgibbon, of Mountshannon House, who was killed during The Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War, and which was blown up by nationalists in 1930.[1] The memorial was unveiled on Sunday 27 May 1956, by Leslie de Barra, the wife of former Republican leader Thomas Barry. In her speech, she paid tribute to the "weary and patient work" and the "courageous example" of those involved in the Rising.[4]
Patrick Hillery represented the Irish government at the 1966 Golden Jubilee commemoration in 1966, reviewing the troops who participated in the ceremony.[5] However, by 2006, the memorial was in need of maintenance work, and Sinn Fein representatives were critical of the local authority, saying that the monument was in "a shocking state of disrepair".[6]
References
- 1 2 "Limerick 1916 Memorial". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 28 Oct 2016.
- ↑ "The 1916 Memorial". Glucksman Library, University of Limerick. Retrieved 28 Oct 2016.
- ↑ "The Limerick 1916 Monument" (PDF). The Limerick Leader. 25 September 1954. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ↑ "Thousands witness unveiling of Limerick memorial" (PDF). The Limerick Leader. 28 May 1956. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ↑ "Wreaths Laid at Limerick 1916 Memorial 1966". RTE Archives. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ↑ "Memorial is "in a state", Sinn Fein" (PDF). The Limerick Leader. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2016.