Kerry County Council will try to find funding to repair a historic bridge known for its links to an execution during the War of Independence.
Fine Gael councillor Michael Foley asked the council to carry out urgent repairs on the bridge at Gortaglanna in North Kerry.
The bridge is where four Kerry men were picked up by the Black and Tans in May 1921, before three of them were executed nearby.
On 12th May 1921, IRA volunteers Paddy Dalton, Con Dee, and Paddy Walsh, stopped at the bridge at Gortaglanna when they met Jerry Lyons, and stopped for a chat.
Lorries of Black and Tans happened to pass by, and the four unarmed men were beaten and then taken to a nearby field to be executed.
One man, Con Dee, successfully escaped, but Dalton, Lyons and Walsh were all shot dead in the field, which is now marked by a large monument.
The execution inspired the famous ballad, The Valley of Knockanure.
At the recent Listowel Municipal District meeting, Fine Gael councillor Michael Foley called for urgent repair to the bridge at Gortaglanna, which he said was of huge historical significance.
He said the condition of the bridge is sad, and the plaque on it commemorating the men who died is nearly falling into the stream.
Cllr Foley said the bridge is falling apart, and it’s a shame nothing is being done about it.
Kerry County Council said the parapet will be assessed and it will prepare a cost estimate, in order to find a suitable funding stream.
Cllr Foley’s motion was seconded by Sinn Féin councillor Tom Barry, who said it would not take much money to do up the bridge.
