1916 Rising monument to be unveiled in Cork village

The Irish ambassador to Britain, Dan Mulhall, will officially unveil a monument in a North Cork village next Sunday to commemorate the 1916 Rising.

The monument, made of cut limestone, will be unveiled in Kildorrery village park as part of a number of events to commemorate the centenary.

It is the culmination of work which was started by a non-political local group, specially-formed last August for the occasion.

The group was fortunate to have a site donated by Kildorrery Community Development in the village park.

Planning permission for the monument was later granted by Cork County Council along with a €1,000 grant. The project cost around €9,500 to complete and was primarily paid for by a fundraising campaign.

The main standing stone commemorates the 1916 Rising and there are five other plaques on the surrounding walls.

All the artistic work and design was completed by local stone mason Mick Walsh, who is also chairman of the organising group.

The Kildorrery commemorations will get under way on Thursday next at 8pm with a concert in the local church hall entitled ‘The Dawning of the Day’ which will feature Cork singer Seán Ó Sé along with a host of local talent.

On Saturday night next, there will be live music in local bars before the main event which takes place the following day.

On Sunday a special Mass will be said at St Bartholomew’s Church at 11am which will be followed by a parade to the monument site led by the Liam Lynch Memorial Pipe Band.

The monument will be unveiled by ambassador Mulhall and flags will be raised. Poems will be read by local children and adults. Music will also be provided by local musicians.