Taoiseach pledges landmark monument to peace

PLANS for a landmark monument to be sited near the Border to commemorate the Northern Ireland peace process have been announced by Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

The Fianna Fáil leader also promised yesterday that the Government would establish a new anti-sectarianism fund to assist people in neighbourhoods at the interface of sectarian tension in Northern Ireland.

Announcing the initiatives, Mr Ahern said Fianna Fáil would commission a major international competition to design and construct a peace monument to be located in the Border region, if the party is returned to government. The Fianna Fáil leader said €5 million would be allocated to the project which would be on the same scale as Dublin’s Spire monument or the iconic Angel of the North sculpture near Gateshead in England.