The County Mayo Peace Park and Garden of Remembrance is a project to document people from

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

who lost their lives in both World Wars. The park is located in

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...

, County Mayo.

History

The park was conceived by

Michael Feeney Michael Feeney, MBE, is the founder of the County Mayo Peace Park and Garden of Remembrance. An Irish citizen he was awarded the MBE due to his services in promoting British-Irish relations by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony at Buckingham Pa ...

. It was officially opened by Mary McAleese, the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

in October 2008. The annual

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

Services to commemorate the

World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

deceased began in 1999, when Feeney organised an official Remembrance mass in the Church of the Holy Rosary in

following research which showed that a significant number of

soldiers were killed in action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

USA memorial

The park also contains a plaque commemorating Mayo natives that fought for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, including those that fought in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and Vietnam War.

Criticism

The peace park has faced criticism due to the fact that it only commemorates those who fought for the British Army and not those who died in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. A commemoration to

Cornelius Coughlan Cornelius Coughlan VC (27 June 1828 – 14 February 1915) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. De ...

, a Victoria Cross recipient for services during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, was described as a "war crime commemoration" by Dr Pat Muldowney, a historian and lecturer at the University of Ulster. The Peace Park was described as "a monument to the British" by Fianna Fáil Mayo County Council group leader Al McDonnell. McDonnell further stated that "My suspicious were confirmed when they conferred an MBE on one of the park's founder members. The British saw the park as an endorsement of their colonial and military policies."

References

{{reflist

External links

Mayo Peace Park

2008 establishments in Ireland County Mayo Castlebar Peace monuments and memorials Peace parks

History

USA memorial

Criticism

See also

References

External links