A national memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives during the Covid pandemic has been proposed for the village of Athleague.
The memorial would be part of a proposed extensive walking loop for the area, which would take in the picturesque River Suck.
Former county councillor and member of the We Are Athleague group, Ivan Connaughton gave a presentation on the proposal during the recent official opening of the Circle of Life green space by Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary.
Speaking to the Herald, Mr Connaughton explained that a land owner purchased approximately 50 acres adjoining the River Suck.
“A close relation of his died during Covid, and his idea was to rewild the land and have a national memorial for all the people who died from Covid,” said Mr Connaughton.
“We are liaising with him and suggested that we bring our looped walk across the River Suck and have an accessible raised platform through the lands, along with having a national Covid memorial on the lands as well.”
He said that the memorial would be accessible by foot and car but all the details have yet to be decided in consultation with the landowner, the community and council.
The plan had its origins in 2019 when a community and economic plan was developed.
“It identified a number of different actions, 90 per cent of which have been completed.
“The biggest project is the looped walk, and it will be a challenge.
Planning permission requires a lot of environmental surveys, and we’re hopeful that planning could be submitted by October at the latest. It will be our biggest project to date,” said Mr Connaughton.
He added that the community would then be seeking state funding for the project, in conjunction with local fundraising.
“We had a local resident, the late Nollaig Whyte, who was working on this project. We wouldn’t be where we are only for her.
“We believe we have an obligation to Nollaig to ensure that this is brought to fruition,” Mr Connaughton said.
“We are also very grateful to our local community and local businesses who always generously support our fundraising initiatives,” he concluded.
