IRA memorial funding dispute

Published Monday, 20 February 2012
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A row has erupted at Stormont after it was revealed an IRA monument in Co Armagh could be eligible to receive a facelift using European funding.

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The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recently agreed to assess an application from the Crossmaglen Memorial Heritage Committee, which means the monument could be eligible to receive funding of up to £30,000.

TUV leader Jim Allister said if the application goes ahead, it will be "an appalling abuse of rural development and funding".

"This application should've been put in the bin the very day it arrived," he told UTV.

"We've a minister who's supposed, under her code of conduct, to be all-embracing and moving on, and here she is considering an application to refurbish a monument to glorify terrorism."

Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill said the proposal from the Heritage committee is "for the preservation, updating and completion of a monument located in the square in Crossmaglen.

"This involves the addition of several plaques to the existing monument. The wording of the plaques relates to the background and siting of the monument, and information about the sculpture," the Sinn Féin minister said.

The proposal is being reviewed by a cluster group made up of councils in the southern area and Minister O'Neill said any decision to fund the project will be made by the Joint Council Committee.

A spokesperson for Sinn Féin did not confirm whether or not the party was supporting the application, but said: "We understand that an application has been made but all applications are subject to a consideration process and set criteria."

It is not yet known when a decision on the application will be made, but the TUV says if it gets the green light, the party is determined to fight it.

© UTV News
Comments Comments
53 Comments
Jason in Belfast wrote (458 days ago):
I agree with Mark O but also remember there are alos many of these illegal monuments to terrorists in lots of loyalist areas too
Andy in Carryduff wrote (458 days ago):
I had two young friends killed by these 'heroes'. One by a boobytrap and the other by a bomb under his car. I also can't forget the 'heroes' who hung a grill bomb on La Mon and slunk away. I suppose Hitler and Stalin are 'heroes' to somebody. But I wouldn't want to visit their memorials. I'm only sorry there are not more of these 'heroes' to have memorials for.
Mark O in Londonderry wrote (458 days ago):
Just wondering if those behind this monument to Terrorists actually applied and where granted full lawful planning permision? If not then it's an Illegal Monument and instead of wasting money to tart it up the powers that be should just tear it down.
liam in belfast wrote (459 days ago):
what the IRA have done doesn't hold a match to what the british have done in this country, and that is a FACT! everyones idea of 'a terrorist' is different. unionists need to accept that not everyone in the world thinks like them! when will they ever learn!!
OldSod in Fermanagh wrote (459 days ago):
David in Belfast,- PIRA/ SF are not at war, they are at peace and are winning more ground then they ever could with bombs or bullets. With respect to the Dissidents, I would call it "low intensity conflict", not exactly "peace" I suppose, still a far way off the "troubles" or war,... but that was not the point I was trying to make. I was trying to make a point on how the same "conflict" has more or less changed venues, from insurgency/ counter insurgency to propaganda, revisionism and politics. As Carl von Clausewitz once said: "War is the continuation of Politics by other means", I think that goes the other way around too and the SF/ IRA leadership had the vision to understand this years ago. Unionism is always "reacting", never taking the initiative or planning ahead. I can guarantee SF knows or at least has a vision of what they will have achieved in 50 years time (I'll bet that certain members of the leadership could have told you 20-30 years ago, quite accurately what they would be doing today),... the DUP will only be able to tell you what they hope has not happened in 10 years time, they are always on the defensive, reacting. As France discovered after WWI, there is no point winning the war, only to loose the "peace" in the long run. The union was preserved at the end of the troubles, but as a french general once said, "victory can be a very dangerous thing".
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