Monument removal sought

MAYO County Council is seeking the removal of a Famine monument which has been erected without planning permission at Killala…

MAYO County Council is seeking the removal of a Famine monument which has been erected without planning permission at Killala and which carries an inscription local community leaders feel may prove offensive to British tourists.

Killala Community Council has dissociated itself from the inscription on the roadside memorial, which describes the British government during the Famine as "uncaring" and "alien".

A spokesman for the Community Council pointed out at the weekend that the memorial has been erected in a prominent position on the main tourist route to the Ceide Fields, which attracts up to 60,000 visitors every year.

However, a local man, Mr Cathal Quinn, who commissioned the memorial, said he did not understand how the wording could be deemed offensive in any way.

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A spokesman for Mayo County Council said whatever wording was on the monument was irrelevant as far as the council's decision was concerned.