John Devoy Memorial
The unveiling of a statue to the patriot John Devoy, ‘the Greatest of the Fenians,’ at Poplar Square, Naas, on 25 October 2015 will be a unique historic event. The week-long programme, planned by the Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee, will begin on Monday 19 October, with the launch of Tom Nelson’s book Through peace and war: Kildare Co. Council in the years of revolution, 1899-1926, in Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas. It will close with the statue’s unveiling, by the Mayor of County Kildare, Cllr. Brendan Weld, at 2.00 p.m., Sunday 25 October and the subsequent launch, at 4.00 p.m., of the County Kildare 1916-2016 Programme in McCauley Place, Naas.
The John Devoy Memorial Committee was founded in Naas, Co. Kildare, by local man Seamus Curran in 2008. The Committee struggled to attract funding in the recessionary period and the County Kildare Association of New York offered help. A New York John Devoy Memorial Committee was set up as a subcommittee of the County Kildare Association and quite quickly raised $45,000 to erect the statue. The location for the monument was chosen by the Naas and New York Committees with the agreement of Kildare County Council. Cast by sculptor Jarlath Daly the life-size statue of John Devoy will be erected near to where Devoy worked and across the street from Our Lady and St. David’s Catholic Church, where he was condemned from the pulpit, in 1865, by Fr. Hughes for his political activities in the name of Irish freedom. The project will revive interest in this great hero, largely forgotten by history, as the Irish at home and around the world prepare for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
The Kildare County Council Decade of Commemorations Committee have organised a week-long series of events to coincide with the unveiling and the visit by members of the New York Co. Kildare Association to the county. On Monday 19 October, at 12 noon, Tom Nelson will launch his book Through peace and war. Kildare Co. Council in the years of revolution, 1899-1926, in Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas. Terry Golway’s, Irish rebel: John Devoy and America’s fight for Ireland’s freedom, will be re-published by Merrion Press, Sallins, for the occasion. A new book by Kildare Historian in Residence, James Durney, Foremost and ready: Kildare and the 1916 Rising is likewise planned to coincide with the event. Kildare County Council are hosting two nights of entertainment in Naas Town Hall for the US visitors and local residents: ‘The Percy French Story,’ by Owen C. Lynch and Mona Conroy will be performed at 8.00 p.m., Friday 23 October and Saturday 24 October. Earlier on Saturday, the Co. Kildare Federation of Local History Groups host their annual seminar in Kilcullen Heritage Centre, at 11.30 am. Guest speaker, Adhamhnán Ó Súilleabháin, will deliver an illustrated talk on his grandfather, 1916 veteran, Domhnall Ua Buachalla, from Maynooth.
The week-long festivities will culminate on Sunday 25 October, with the unveiling of the John Devoy statue at 2.00 p.m., Poplar Square, Naas, followed by the launch, at 4.00 p.m., of the Co. Kildare 1916-2016 Programme. The unveiling, which is open to the public, will be attended by The Mayor of Co. Kildare, Cllr. Brendan Weld, County Kildare public representatives and the representatives of the John Devoy Memorial Committees of New York and Naas, Kildare Co. Council, Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee, Naas Local History Group and Kill Local History Group. Refreshments and music will be provided in McCauley House, Naas, after the unveiling. The Kildare Decade of Commemorations Programme,1916-2016, features, at present, over ninety events with more events promised. It is packed full of exciting themes, projects and community-led activities such as concerts, school pageants, book launches, drama, musical and dance performances, art exhibitions, lectures and seminars.
Further details can be found on Kildare County Council website and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kildaredecadeofcommemorations Email: cilldara2016@gmail.com
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