The failure to erect a memorial to women of the revolution in Kerry in the centenary period “is an insult to all women”, a meeting of Kerry County Council was told on Monday in Tralee.
A cross-party motion was put forward in the council in March of last year to honour the role played by women in Kerry between 1912 and 1923.
The motion by the then five woman members of the council calling for a suitable memorial to be erected on the grounds of Áras an Chontae, the county buildings in Tralee, was supported by all 33 members.
Women in Kerry had played a huge role in the struggle for independence in the county but this had never been recognised, that meeting heard.
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There have been a number of meetings since seeking to progress the motion.
The matter was highlighted again on Monday morning as a plaque to the first members elected to the first council in Kerry in 1899 – all of them men – was unveiled at the council buildings by the new Cathaoirleach, Cllr Breandán Fitzgerald.
This year marks 125 years of local government in Ireland and the establishment of county councils under the Local Government Act of 1898.
Sinn Féin councillor Deirdre Ferris, one of the original proposers of the memorial to women, said 125 years of local government in Kerry deserved to be celebrated. However, it was 16 months since the motion by women in the council was passed and it should have been prioritised, she said.
The women’s memorial is only going out to public tender, which meant the 1923 centenary was missed, she said .
“The council has lost the opportunity to recognise the women who gave every possible sacrifice to the breaking of colonial rule in this county,” Ms Ferris said.
As a woman in the chamber she found it “highly insulting”.
Acting county manager Angela McAllen assured the meeting the memorial would be prioritised. The Kerry Women Commemoration tender was approved and is now being advertised.
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