Buttevant monument to commemorate rail crash

Ray Ryan

It will bear the names of those who died and acknowledge the role played by the emergency services and the Buttevant community in the aftermath of the disaster.

Buttevant Rail Disaster Commemorative Committee (BRDCC), with the help of Irish Rail and Cork County Council, is organising a Commemorative Day on August 1 next to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the crash.

BRDCC spokewoman Terri O’Gorman said the committee is delighted with the positive response from Irish Rail and Cork County Council in identifying a site and agreeing to commission an appropriate monument, which will be designed at Irish Rail’s engineering works in Inchicore, Dublin.

“We feel strongly that there must be a focal point to which relatives of those who died can come to remember their loved ones. It is also vital that those who were injured are afforded an opportunity to return to the site and remember that day.”

Plans are also continuing apace for an ecumenical service for August 1, 2005, in Buttevant.

“We are inviting anyone who has a connection with this disaster to join us for a day of remembrance,” she said.

The committee is actively seeking to contact those who were injured or the relatives of those who were killed in the rail disaster.

“We are satisfied with the progress we have made and I can report that a significant number of relatives of victims and those who were injured will be joining us on the day”, she said.

“The people of Buttevant and the wider North Cork Community feel the time is right to commemorate this disaster in a dignified way.

“We are calling on relatives of those who perished and those who were injured to contact the committee should they wish to become involved in this commemoration,” she said.