'Crumbling' Mayo Peace Park wall repairs to cost council €400,000
Castlebar councillors told that a substantial investment is needed to repair crumbling Mayo Peace Park wall
The cost of repairing the damaged wall at the Mayo Peace Park in Castlebar will be around €400,000 which will include new foundations having to be put in.
The Mayo Peace Park, located on Lannagh Road in Castlebar attracts thousands of visitors every year but there are fears the wall will collapse due to subsidence.
The monthly meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District heard calls from councillors to carry out work to underpin the wall which is damaged. However, David Mellett, the Director of Services informed them that an engineering report into the damage found that the cost of underpinning the wall was 'substantial' compared to taking down the wall and rebuilding it which will cost €400,000.
“It makes sense [to underpin] when looking at a building but the cost at the time they [engineers] estimated was around €400,000 to take it down and take off the stone work and store it and rebuild the wall and foundation and drainage. It is a substantial investment,” David Mellet, the Director of Services told councillors.
The Mayo Peace Park was opened by President Mary McAleese in October 2008 and it commemorates all those Mayo people who served and died in the major world wars and conflicts of the past century and has more than 1,200 names inscribed on black marble walls.
Earlier Castlebar councillors had called for work to be carried out on the Peace Park to ensure that the wall does not collapse after the foundations on the wall failed.
Cathaoirleach of the municipal district, Cllr Ger Deere said he was making the restoration of the wall one of his main priorities and did not want it falling on his watch.
“I spoke to a gentleman who spent most of his life in England underpinning large houses and we have a block wall up there. I want a copy of the report to show those people who say it can be underpinned.
“It is not a big job when they can underpin three story houses...this is only a block wall at the end of the day but it is a disgrace. Under my watch we cannot let this happen,” he said.
Independent councillor Harry Barrett also called for work to be done on the wall and called for the government to fund the cost to repair it.
“If that collapses on our watch it will not only be a national embarrassment but an international embarrassment. I won't want to be a member of this council that stands over the collapse of the monument. I propose we invite the minister to come and look at it and support us to get it fixed,” he said.
Mr Mellet added that the engineering report went into detail regarding why the foundations failed but he did not want to discuss it openly but was happy to share the report with the councillors.