How a bomb became a bell and other stories from St Mary’s International Garden of Remembrance

Nestled down the middle road between Mitchel and Kickham streets in Thurles is St Mary’s International Garden of Remembrance. 

When you walk in, you will see a church, two anti-tank guns and three walls of memorial plaques.

On one of the walls at the back of the garden is a 155mm artillery shell.

The shell was fired from Israel into south Lebanon in 2006 and landed near a place called Tibnin.

It was made safe by Irish peacekeepers stationed near the village of Marjayoun, and, as the church at Camp IDA needed one, the bomb became a bell.

When Durlas Eile Eliogarty Memorial Committee Chairman John Wort gave the Tipperary Star a tour of the garden he said: 

“A beautiful sound now, and you wouldn’t think it, and she was hanging up.”  
When the peacekeepers returned to Ireland, they brought the shell-bell home and it was hung in the church at Aiken Barracks in Dundalk. 

When the church was refurbished and the barracks got a new bell, the shell came to Thurles to the FCA Hall until it closed, and it found a new home in the garden of remembrance. 

“It’s a garden of remembrance, but it also reminds you what it’s about, and this is what I tell people, war and peace go together.

“The destruction, what they cause and then you can see what a bell can do,” said John. 

BEGINNINGS

The idea for the garden came to John on a visit to Washington in 1997. 

He was visiting national war memorials and thought that there was a need for them at home. 

“I was very impressed with the Vietnam wall and the Korean memorials. I was very much aware of the 72 men from Thurles who were in the First World War, and they died and never came back and were never honoured as such,” said John.

At the time, John was a member of the now disbanded, Thurles Tidy Towns, which had a memorials sub-committee.

On his return to Thurles, John pitched the idea, and the committee were in agreement. 

They approached the church authority and the Urban Town Council about erecting a memorial on the grounds of St Mary’s, which they maintained. 

The Durlas Eile Eliogarty Memorial Committee was officially formed in 1999 and unveiled its first memorial in 2000. 

MEMORIALS

“All the memorials in here are firsts, and the ideas are from other departments and committees around the country with the ONE and the UN vets, they got ideas and have done likewise, and now there are about seven or eight memorial gardens around the country with the same,” said John.

On the back of the success of the first memorial, the committee, along with The United Nations Veterans Association, decided to honour the Irish UN troops killed in the Congo in 1960.

That memorial was opened by then Minister for Defence in 2001, Michael Smith. 

Next came the memorial to those from Thurles who fought for independence in Ireland.

John says it is important to note that this is not about the War of Independence but the efforts made as far back as the 1700s. 

“Everyone is remembered regardless of who they fought for or their religion, it makes no odds we don't discriminate. 

“This was a great area for republicans at the time, and this area itself is the oldest part of the town.

“So it includes everybody and excludes no one. Everybody is remembered because sometimes these people are forgotten,” said John. 

Next came the memorial to Tom Semple.

“Tom was a great tactician, a great hurler, and he was responsible for Semple Stadium, which bears his name today. He was also a great friend of Michael Collins, which lots of people don’t know.

"He carried correspondence because he worked with Irish Rail at the time, and he was able to carry dispatches, and nobody would ever stop him. 

“His son Martin is in Denver Colorado. Martin is a member of our committee and comes home quite often, and he is also one of our main sponsors with his wife Jo,” said John. 

The garden also has memorials to those who have died in the service of peace, those who have the victims of terrorism and members of An Garda Síochána who died in the line of duty.

There are two community memorial walls with the bigger of the two featuring a mosaic from Lebanon. 

“This was brought in on a scroll, and it shows the pillars of Hercules, and you can see the Lebanese cedar and the tricolour.  It’s a beautiful piece of stonework. It’s very delicate, and I say to the boys it has come from a very hot country. So, the stone wouldn’t be able to stand up to what you see there, so it has to be kind of pampered now and then, said John. 

The 911 memorial contains a cross cut from the steel of the Twin Towers, and a flag from memorial ceremonies in the US hangs above with an eagle on top of the pole.

There is a famine memorial and many more besides. 

When the memorials were unveiled, the ceremonies were attended by up to 1000 people, which included dignitaries both national and international, ambassadors, their representatives and family members of those honoured.

John told us that there are people who visit annually to lay wreaths and visit loved ones. “

And, that’s what it is all about to be able to come in here.

“There are lots of places you can’t go, but you can here to remember people and say a prayer if you want to,” said John.

GUNS AND CEDARS

Perhaps the most striking thing about the garden is the guns. 

They are large but not as imposing as one might think and they serve a very important purpose.

“Some people, one or two, don't like to see the guns there. But you explain it to them. The guns have been blessed so many times, it's unreal.

“It lets you see what war was about, the destruction, but as you saw, a piece of destruction can be a piece of peace,” said John. 

One is a Mark 1-17 pounder anti-tank gun that entered into service in 1942 and was used by British forces. It is one of the last in such good condition. 

The second is a French cannon given to the committee by cadets from Kildare. It is one of two, with the other in France. 

The remembrance garden also has a very special tree, a Cedar from Lebanon.

“When it came over, it was tiny. It was only a small thing. But they are the oldest cedars in the world, they are known as the Cedars of the Lord, and they were sent over to us by the people of Lebanon, and as you can see it is number 6 of 47 trees to be planted in Ireland, but that will have to be changed because it was one for every soldier killed in Lebanon,” said John. 

In 2010, the garden twinned with the Irish Memorial Garden in Tibnin, and so the two pieces of land are connected from across the world.

ST MARY’S

The grounds of St Mary’s Church hold far more history to explore. 

There are two national monuments and many graves, though much is overgrown. 

Tom Semple is buried on the grounds, as is the Viscountess of Thurles Lady Elizabeth (1587-1673).

One of the most famous graves is the Archers tomb, sometimes known locally and affectionately as the “Adam and Eve” tomb.

While we were exploring the grounds, a group from Portugal were looking around. 

One of the visitors is descended from the Archer family and had come to learn about his heritage. 

He told us: 

“I belong to the Archer family in Portugal, and I am studying the family, and in Portugal, it is very well studied, but not in Ireland.

“I’m trying to know the history so I can visit all the points. I have gotten some of the history from the internet, but this is my first time in Ireland, and I am trying to solve the puzzle.”

John told the visitors about the house in Archerstown, and they hoped to visit on their trip. 

The committee have plans to expand the garden, and the Remembrance Sunday ceremony later this year will see ambassadors from Malta, Kuwait, and the Republic of Korea visit Thurles. 

The garden of remembrance is not about war, and it is not about peace but about both as well as stories, memories and families. 

It is a fitting location for such a site and a place where people can come to remember and discover their past.