THERE has been a call for a plaque to be erected in honour of Hannah Carey, a Killarney waitress who was the last person to die in the War of Independence 100 years ago today.
She was shot outside her workplace in the former Imperial Hotel at College Square, Killarney.
The 48-year-old was struck by a stray bullet a century ago just before the truce commenced and it was later reported that a policeman had accidentally discharged his revolver as he drove through the streets shortly after a town centre IRA attack on two British soldiers.
Hannah was standing at the door of the Imperial Hotel on College Square when she sustained a bullet wound to the neck just a few minutes before noon on Monday, 11 July 1921, when the agreed cessation of hostilities was to come into effect.
Mayor of Killarney, Cllr Marie Moloney, has asked Kerry County Council to erect a plaque in her memory either on the wall of the former Imperial Hotel – now the Killarney Towers – or close by.
“I hope that this weekend that everyone in our county and in our country can take a moment to reflect and remember the events of 100 years ago.
“This was a difficult and traumatic time in our community and we hope and pray that all those who died are resting in peace, Mayor Moloney said at a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the truce.
A ceremony was held yesterday at the Garden of Remembrance outside Killarney Courthouse which was opened during the commemorations of the centenary of the Easter Rising five years ago.
“The war was a traumatic and turbulent time for County Kerry and for Killarney and I am thinking this weekend of all those who lost their lives in that conflict, be they combatant or civilian,” Cllr Moloney said.
“Kerry, more than most counties, experienced the hardship and brutality of the conflict and it impacted on every parish and every corner of the county,” she added.
