Hidden Belfast cenotaph to be put on public display
AN ALMOST forgotten cenotaph to railway workers from Northern Ireland who died in the First World War is set to become visible to the public again.
The monument was erected at Belfast’s old York Street station to commemorate railway staff.
The terminus, which dated back to 1848, officially closed in 1992. There is now a maintenance depot on the site, within which the cenotaph is located.
It is open to the public once a year for Remembrance Day, or by prior arrangement.
However a group of locals – backed by Charlie Lawson, the Coronation Street actor, who is from Belfast – have been campaigning for the cenotaph to be seen all year round.
Following meetings with Translink, which provides public transport for Northern Ireland, the company has offered a compromise option of inserting a window into the wall to allow the cenotaph to be visible to the public.
Campaigner William Mcquade has described the development as a “small but significant victory” for lower north Belfast, and said it was particularly fitting 100 years after the end of the Great War.
Now Mr Mcquade has started a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of making the cenotaph visible.
He has argued that a visible cenotaph will help attract more tourists into the area, and show the area’s shared history of service and sacrifice from all sides of the communities that reside there.
“Having served (in the Armed Forces) this is something that I can say with full conviction that I am personally passionate about and I can honestly say this said monument just behind the works wall should be on public display,” he said. “I often wondered why this is not on display, taking into consideration that whilst we have a shared past that can be contentious at times, both sides fought and died side by side regardless of race, class or creed.”
A previous request for the war memorial to be moved to a site on the Shore Road was unsuccessful.
The war memorial was originally erected by the Midland Railway Company at York Street station to commemorate railway staff who lost their lives in the war. When the station underwent redevelopment, it was moved to Carrickfergus.
During work at Carrickfergus in the early 2000s, the war memorial was moved to York Road engineering facility, where it remains.
A Translink spokesman said: “There is an annual Remembrance Day service held at the cenotaph this year on Friday November 9 which is open for all members of the public to attend”.