Knockagh Monument centenary: Co Antrim War Memorial focus of special events

It is one of a number of commemoration events to be held to mark the landmark anniversary of the County Antrim War Memorial.

A wreath-laying ceremony will take place with elected representatives and invited guests including the Lord Lieutenant of County Antrim and High Sheriff.

Knockagh Ulster Unionist Councillor Andrew Wilson requested that a letter be sent to His Royal Highness Prince William, Baron of Carrickfergus, inviting him to attend.

The monument was erected as a memorial to those from County Antrim whose lives were lost during World War I and later those from the county who died during the Second World War.

The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Antrim on October 7, 1922. Her great-grandson the Earl of Antrim will be invited to open an exhibition on the Knockagh Monument in Carrickfergus Town Hall where there will also be a talk by the chief executive of the Ulster Architectural Heritage, Dr Paul Harron, on Henry Seaver, monument architect, to mark the historic occasion.

Antrim County Council took over responsibility for the monument in 1936 until the reorganisation of local government in 1973 when it was transferred to Carrickfergus Borough Council which was required to meet the costs of routine maintenance with some financial assistance from other local authorities in County Antrim.

Following local government reform in 2015, responsibility for the Knockagh Monument was transferred to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, one of four participating councils in the Knockagh Monument Joint Committee alongside Antrim and Newtownabbey, Causeway Coast and Glens and Lisburn and Castlereagh City councils.

Each is asked to contribute the sum of £2,000 annually towards the upkeep of the war memorial. Belfast City Council declined to become involved.

Work undertaken in the run-up to Remembrance Day 2018 included new facing, removal of graffiti, re-pointing, concrete repairs, inscription re-rendering, restoration and patching work.

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Alderman Stephen Ross, said the monument must be “treated with the utmost respect” and he supported an increase in annual contributions.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter