No place on Birr's pillar for 'butcher' PILLAR OF SOCIETY: The column in Birr is due to undergo restoration
Sunday November 22 2009
The 44ft pillar in the centre of the Offaly town of Birr is under restoration, but there are no plans to reinstate the 'Butcher' Cumberland to his place on top of the pedestal.
Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland, got his nickname from the bloody battle of Culloden in 1746 -- but in 1915 Scottish soldiers got their revenge when they pulled the 'Butcher' from his pillar in the centre of the Georgian town.
Only his head and arm remain and are among the many historic artefacts kept by Lord and Lady Rosse at Birr Castle.
Restoration work recently started on the pillar, which is the oldest monumental column in Ireland.
Many in the town would love to see a new statue on top of the pillar but few want to see the Duke of Cumberland placed there again.
A report by conservation specialists said that the pillar was "extremely important as the earliest column erected in Ireland and without doubt a structure of national importance and cultural significance".
When workers put up scaffolding a few weeks ago they realised it was in a much worse state of repair than they had thought and a significant portion of the column was in danger of collapsing.
The total cost of the restoration is €58,000, of which Birr Town Council is contributing €24,000.
A local councillor, Denis Shiels, objected recently to the spending of this money and said that the funds should be redirected elsewhere. He argued that we were living in a recessionary time, there were far less funds for projects and schemes, and there were many other projects that needed to be completed.
But councillor Michael Loughnane said he had been pleasantly surprised to see the scaffolding go up around the pillar and commended the Offaly heritage officer, Amanda Pedlow, who had managed to secure funding for the restoration.
In their report, the conservation specialists said they didn't recommend putting another statue on the pillar, which is disappointing news for many people in Birr, because for a long number of years there had been talk about erecting a new statue on top of the monument.
Cumberland Square was renamed Emmet Square in 1922, in honour of the nationalist rebel leader Robert Emmet.
- Derek Fanning
Sunday Independent
