Irish Memorial Planned for Devou Park

The Fenians of Northern Kentucky will continue to work toward constructing a memorial dedicated to Irish heritage in the region in Devou Park.

The Covington City Commission on Tuesday voted to extend an agreement with the Fenians for another three years while the organization continues to work towards its fundraising goals.

The proposed memorial would be located west of the amphitheater in the park and would replicate a Neolithic dolmen, a single chamber tomb that dates back to 3,000 BC. The Fenians hopes that it would serve as a monument to Irish heritage in the region and would be the only such structure in the United States, according to Mike Holiday of the 

The dolmen represents a Celtic symbol of passing from an old life into a new one and are found throughout Ireland.  Applied to Irish immigrants leaving their old lives in Ireland to pursue a new one In America, the Fenians believe the project to be the perfect structure for the memorial.

All of the stone used for the memorial would come from Ireland.

According to Natalie Gardner, programs and strategic projects manager for the city, the nation’s first dolmen memorial of the Irish would provide another means to invite the public to spend time in Devou Park, adding to the amenities at Covington’s largest green space that already includes hiking and biking trails, a Drees Pavilion overlook and reception center, a golf course, amphitheater, and the Behringer-Crawford Museum.

The memorial design will tell the story of Ireland from the beginnings of time through the Good Friday accord and a series of plaques will be created and displayed on site with the help of local history professors from Thomas More College and Northern Kentucky University.

The project is anticipated to take three years to complete, according to the new agreement, with an estimated cost of $350,000 – $500,000. The Fenians will wholly fund the project and have plans to fundraise by offering families and corporations ways to contribute.

Interested parties can contact Mike Holliday at 513-703-2315. 

Photo: Irish domen in County Clare, Ireland by pdphoto.org