Letter: Mayo Peace Park restoration concerns must be addressed

Sir,

THE recent Mayo Military Heroes seminar promoted by the Mayo branch of the Organisation of National Ex-Service Men and Women was a wonderful success.

It was held as part the Mayo Day celebration and events.

The event was very well attended, and the lecture talks were superbly delivered by a host of excellent speakers.

The only ones who did not attend the Mayo Heroes event, it would appear, were our local TDs and county councillors and senior council officials.

This was a great pity as they would have learned a great deal about the bravery and sacrifice made by Mayo men and women who gave their lives in the cause of world peace during the World Wars and on UN peacekeeping operations since the 1960s.

The wonderful Mayo Peace Park Garden of Remembrance was erected in 2008 to commemorate all of those heroes in their own county.

Sadly, this memorial is now in a disgraceful condition because of large-scale subsidence under and around the main memorial.

The surrounding ground paving has sunk and weeds are everywhere. Many of the granite panels are now irreparably damaged. The CCTV system and the lighting needs urgent attention.

The voluntary committee informed Mayo County Council that this was occurring as far back as 2014. One senior council official later went on record to deny this, saying that it was only a bit of settlement.

Over two years ago an internal report was carried out.

The report could not establish who built or was responsible for the building work carried out at the park. It stated that due to the passage of time and the lack of available records and information, it was unable to ascertain who was responsible.

This report gave little information on who was contacted to arrive at that conclusion. I was certainly around at that time. I was not contacted or consulted.

If I was contacted, I would have confirmed that Mayo County Council architects and engineers had prepared the final plans and appointed the contractors and builders. Indeed, they had insisted on doing so at the time.

Something went wrong under the ground, and a serious subsidence problem occurred. I am not apportioning blame as it was a most unusual occurrence. The damage has worsened since.

The report concluded that the main wall would have to be to be taken down, rebuilt, and the area stabilised. All that has happened since then was a that a fence was erected to keep people away as it was now deemed a health and safety problem.

The Mayo Peace Park Garden of Remembrance represents men and women from towns and villages all over County Mayo.

It is important to state that it is not a Castlebar memorial; it is a truly unique Mayo memorial. It was entirely appropriate that it was erected in a suitable location in the county town.

Over the years the memorial park became serious tourist attraction. Indeed, at one stage the international Trip Advisor site claimed it was number one in the area. One local councillor famously claimed it was the jewel in the crown, and he was correct.

I am appealing to our TDs and councillors to stand up and be counted. They should demand and insist that the Mayo Peace Park Garden of Remembrance be restored to its former glory.

That is the very least that the 2,000 plus Mayo soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians who gave their lives for world peace deserve.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Feeney, Friends of the Mayo Peace Park.