Work finishes on Dundalk WWI memorial

Work on the WWI memorial at the Crescent in Dundalk has been completed.

The monument now features a short poem by Slane poet Francis Ledwidge ‘A Soldier’s Grave’. Ledwidge was killed in 1917 while fighting in Belgium.

The memorial, which had originally featured an image of soldiers leaving for war, was due to be unveiled at the end of May but this was postponed due to allegations of copyright infringement from an American sculptor.

Last week the Democrat reported how the Tipperary contractor tendered to complete the memorial suggested adding an engraving stating the artist responsible for the now removed artwork received “inspiration” from a sculpture due to be installed in Washington DC in 2024; upon hearing copyright issues had been raised with the council.

When the image was finally removed, council communications show the contractor suggested a poem as an alternative as, “we don’t want to venture down the wrong road again with any images.”

The memorial is to commemorate the 310 men from Co Louth who lost their lives in World War One and is funded by Louth County Council and SEUPB EU PEACE IV funding, with an estimated capital cost of the project is €40,000 VAT inclusive, according to the Terms of Reference in the Request for Tenders issues in March 2021.