Peace Park may be forced to close

Mayo County Council has been accused of insulting the memory of Mayo soldiers who sacrificed their lives in global conflicts.
Subsidence issues at the Mayo Peace Park in Castlebar has resulted in separations appearing in memorial walls, according to county councillor Ger Deere, who says the situation is an ‘affront to the brave Mayo men and women who fought and died on foreign fields’.
“It is shameful that this has been allowed happen and it’s an insult to the names of all those people remembered on the wall and their families,” said Cllr Deere.
The Peace Park, located on Lannagh Road in Castlebar, attracts thousands of visitors annually since it was opened by President Mary McAleese in October 2008. It commemorates all those 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.
Cllr Deere says that subsidence is now causing those walls to separate and will result in the park being closed to the public if something isn’t done to alleviate the problem.
“Nearly a year ago the Peace Park Committee highlighted the issue with pavements in front of the main wall which bears the names of over 1,200 Mayo solders and they requested that a structural survey be carried out.

Safety risk
“To date this has not happened and the situation now has developed to where the slabs with names inscribed are beginning to separate from the wall and pose a safety risk.
“Chairman of the Peace Park, Michael Feeney has now informed Mayo County Council officials and the local councillors that several planed events will have to be cancelled for safety reasons if the matter is not resolved quickly,” Cllr Deere explained, before adding that the Peace Park holds special poignancy for his family and countless others.
“Only for for Michael Feeney and his committee these brave soldiers would have been forgotten. They include a great grand uncle of my own who left Snugboro at the age of 16 and died on a World War 1 battle field in Greece. He’s buried there with just a number to identify his final resting place.
“The Peace Park in Castlebar has given him and so many others great dignity and we can’t let the place where he and the other 1,200 brave Mayo people are remembered to fall into disrepair. I am calling on officials in Mayo County Council to address this issue as a matter of urgency,” he concluded.