A plaque to commemorate the local people who were involved in the 1916 Rising is to be erected in John Count McCormack Square.
The move is one of three recommendations made by a subcommittee which was set up by the council to decide how those associated with the 1916 Rising should be commemorated.
The plaque would feature the following wording: “This plaque is erected by the members of Athlone Municipal District to commemorate all those from the greater Athlone area who were active in the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and Cumann na mBan at the time of the Easter Rising in 1916.”
The group also recommended that a section of Grace Road, from the White Bridge to Custume Bridge, be renamed Elliot Road, in honour of the Elliot sisters from Glasson who were founder members of Cumann na mBan.
A database is also to be prepared for the Westmeath County Council website to highlight the involvement of people from the county in the fight for Irish freedom leading to the Treaty in 1922, which will have a dedicated 1916 section.
The three recommendations were agreed following three meetings of the subcommittee, which consisted of Mayor John Dolan, Cllrs Tom Farrell, Frankie Keena, and Paul Hogan, as well as John McCann, Peter Melinn, Seamus McCormack, and Pat Keating.
They took into account two written submissions which had been received from members of the public in May, following a period of public consultation.
