Easter deadline for war memorial plaque

By JACQUELINE HOGGE FINAL efforts to erect a memorial plaque to Tuamâ€â„¢s war dead are being made with hopes of having an official ceremony at the Town Hall within the next six weeks The plaque has been in the planning for almost 18 months and was being organised by a sub-committee of Tuam Town Council. However, the resignation of former Independent councillor Owen Ward, who was co-ordinating the project, has left it in limbo. Cllr Paul Oâ€â„¢Grady has agreed to take on responsibility for organising the event to have the specially commissioned plaque erected on the Town Hall.[private] â€Å“Iâ€â„¢ve taken this on to get it finished as itâ€â„¢s been going on far too long and I believe all the hard work Owen Ward put into it over the past year or so should be recognised by seeing it through to completion,â€Â he said. â€Å“Everything is in place, planning permission has been secured and the quote submitted by the stone cutter has been accepted, so itâ€â„¢s just a case of finalising a date. â€Å“The town engineer Enda Gallagher signed off on this last October, so there is no reason why it canâ€â„¢t now go ahead. â€Å“I want to have it done by St Patrickâ€â„¢s Day, or at the very latest, Easter.â€Â The plaque, which includes the tricolour and the Tuam Town Council crest, also bears the inscription: â€ËœIn memory of the people of Tuam who fought and fell in all wars, both foreign and domestic. We will not forget them as they are still our friends, because to us a friendship is a song that never endsâ€â„¢. It is understood members of the Galway branch of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association will attend the ceremony, along with Galway County Council Heritage Officer Marie Mannion, members of Tuam Town Council and other local dignitaries. [/private]