Sparks fly over 1916 plaque snub

Campaigners have again called for a 50-years-old plaque commemorating Éamonn Ceannt to be returned to the façade outside the city’s railway station.

The plaque, which celebrates the local hero of the 1916 Easter Rising, was removed from the outside wall of Éamonn Ceannt Station around four years ago.

The plaque which is now located indoors.

CIÉ said it was removed for repairs and cleaning and was subsequently displayed safely, inside the station.

Last September, Barry Kenny of CIÉ confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that the company had no plans to return the plaque to the outside of the building, where it was originally unveiled in 1966.

This was despite calls from Galway City Council Heritage Officer and the Galway 1916 Commemoration Committee, for the plaque to be returned.

Galway City Council also unanimously passed a Notice of Motion proposed by Labour’s Billy Cameron calling for the plaque to be returned.

This week, the Éamonn Ceannt Galway Action Committee, following a meeting with station master of Ceannt Station, once again called for the plaque to be returned.

Members of the committee viewed the plaque inside the station and issued a statement calling for it to be returned to its “rightful place as a matter of urgency”.

The committee said one of 15 caveats to any refurbishment of Ceannt Station was that the plaque would be returned to its original place.

They described CIÉ’s refusal to return the plaque a “denationalisation of public space”.

“Our committee demands that as part of the 1916 National Commemorative Programme, the plaque be immediately restored. We hope that both Galway City Council and CIÉ take on board the views of the general public and rightfully remember the legacy of Éamonn Ceannt by addressing this issue,” the committee added.

The plaque was unveiled in 1966 at the 50th commemoration of the Rising, by Josie O’Keefe a member of Cumann na mBan.

“It is a plaque that has a certain heritage and historical importance to Galway and it should be displayed where it was unveiled and where it was intended to be displayed,” Jim Higgins, the city’s heritage officer said last year.

Mr Kenny of CIÉ said it was relocated to the main station platform along with casts of the proclamation. “This has been well received by customers as it has greater visibility, and customers can read the plaque at their leisure prior to boarding the train,” he explained.