A FORMER Mayor of Limerick has called for the 1916 centenary celebrations in Limerick to include the naming of the tunnel under the Shannon after one of the Limerick’s revolutionary figures, Kathleen Clarke.
Limerick-born Kathleen Clarke, was a founder member of Cumann na mBan and one of very few privy to the plans of the Easter. She was subsequently a TD and Senator with both Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil and the first female Lord Mayor of Dublin.
She was married to Thomas Clarke who was the second person to be executed for taking part in the rising.
Cllr Kevin Sheahan (FF) said that it is the wish of the council committee set up to make proposals on the coming celebrations that the “role which was played by women be given special recognition.
“With is in mind, I would like to see  the tunnel under the Shannon named in honour of Kathleen Clarke and Cumann na mBan. The tunnel has no name at present so it would not be taking anything away”.
Cllr Lisa Marie Sheehy (SF) said she was “delighted that so much emphasis is being put on the role played by women in the fight for Irish Freedom,” while her party colleague, Séighin Ó Ceallaigh, said that he hoped that if copies of the proclamation of the Irish Republic were to be displayed, they would be in irish as well as English.
The members were speaking having been briefed on events planned for the centenary celebrations in Limerick
They were told that there would be €100,000 in funding made available for events in the city and county but Cllr Ó Ceallaigh said that this would not be enough.
“This only happens once – by the time the 200th anniversary comes around, we will all be long gone. We need to seize the opportunity”, he said.
