Memorial garden to mark scene of 1940 bombing
PROJECT IN MEMORY OF THREE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES
An artist's impression of the memorial garden planned for Campile.
Wednesday March 10 2010
A MEMORIAL garden and monument are to be unveiled in the village of Campile later this year to commemorate the bombing by the German Luftwaffe of the Co-op in 1940.
The Campile Historical Society and the Campile Development Committee have come together to mark the occasion on the 70th anniversary of the bombing.
The garden will be approximately 110m2 and the site has been generously provide to the community by the new owner of the old co-op premises, Ballysop native John Somers, who has also given a very considerable donation towards the funds.
The Memorial Committee are currently at a very advanced stage of the project and Co. Wexford Sculptor Ciaran O'Brien has been commissioned to carve the monument. He has sourced the marble to be used and has finalised the design and wording and will soon be travelling to Italy to start the carving.
The monument will consist of three standing slabs of white carrera marble and the design will be both contemporary and modern. Each slab will stand at an impressive 1.8 meters.
Ciaran has chosen Celtic motifs and designs taken from both the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow to enhance the overall look of the monument.
The garden will be finished to a very high standard with natural stone and a seating area.
However, there is a shortfall in funding and the memorial committee are appealing to anyone wishing to make a donation to help with the completion of the project to contact John Flynn on 087 2996561 for details of where they can make a donation.
The official opening will take place on Saturday, August 28 and on Thursday, August 26 a special ceremony will take place to mark the 70th anniversary of the day. The Kent sisters Mary Ellen and Kitty, who lost their lives in the bombing, were buried in Terrerath and the third victim Kathleen Hurley was buried in the Ballycullane old graveyard. At 1.50 p.m. on Thursday, August 26 the bells of the churches of Terrerath, Ballycullane, Ballykelly and Horeswood will ring out simultaneously over the surrounding countryside for two minutes to allow the people of the wider community an opportunity to reflect of the horrors of the fateful moments seventy years earlier.
A short prayer service will then be conducted by Fr. O'Leary P.P.
- Elaine FURLONG
