Memorial to ‘The Fallen’ to get new lease of life

Its delapidated state, caused mostly by natural elements, is, however, to be redressed by Ballymena Borough Council at a cost of between £5,000 and £7,000.

Councillors attending the borough Council’s Cultural Services Committee meeting last Wednesday night, voted unanimously in favour of giving the War Memorial at Galgorm Road a long overdue overhaul.

The proposal to do so was made by Ballymena South councillor Martin Clarke and seconded by Cllr Beth Clyde.

It was Cllr Clarke who had highlighted the need for the memorial to be repaired and cleaned at a Council level some months ago, prompting the local authority to seek an expert independent report on its condition.

Presented to last Wednesday night’s committee, the 15-page, illustrated Condition Report was compiled by the Belfast-based Consarc Design Group which specialises in Stone Conservation Services.

The report not only documents the present condition of the structure including details of the main defects to the obelisk and steps but also its considerable historical significance.

Councillors heard, for example, that the site at Galgorm Road became a place to remember the war dead even before the end of the Great War, “apparently making it the first public war memorial in Ireland”.

The plot on which Ballymena Memorial Park now stands is believed to have originated from the offer of a piece of land in the town in the spring of 1917 by renowned local landowner, Sir Robert Adair.

And, it became the venue for a service to commemorate the second anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in the following July.

The memorial was supplemented in November, 1924, when an obelisk was dedicated in the centre by Sir Oliver Nugent, the former commanding officer of the Ulster Division and subsequently by a memorial wall.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Cllr Clarke told The Ballymena Times: “This is an important piece of Ballymena’s built history. It is believed to be the first public war memorial in Ireland and I am delighted that it is to be cleaned up and repaired - and at a cost that seems very reasonable.

“I raised the need for this to be done after attending the November Remembrance Service,” he said.

“I studied the memorial as I was standing there and I noticed that it was very dirty looking and in need of some attention”.

The condition report confirms his view, finding that many areas of the pointing to stonework joints are missing or badly discoloured; previous mortar repairs are unsightly and need to be replaced with stone; joints in both the obelisk and adjacent wall have deteriorated and are significantly water-stained; and moss and algae have grown on recessed and open joints.

The document also finds that the war memorial should be scaffolded during any refurbishment, part of which should involve the steam cleaning of the main obelisk and commemorative wall.

There should, it states, be a detailed schedule of works and specification for pricing and that all works on site should be supervised by someone with “appropriate knowledge and experience for this kind of work”.

The report also informed councillors that the condition survey had identified defects that should be “addressed in the near future” including the defective pointing to the obelisk and steps.