A MINOR “Battle of the Boyne” is looming as councillors in Co Meath are preparing to rename a Boyne bridge after former president Mary McAleese, while councillors in Co Louth have not yet voted to go ahead with the change.
The bridge on the M1 motorway spans the Boyne near Drogheda and crosses the boundary between the two local authorities.
Last year Taoiseach Enda Kenny gave his support to renaming the 352m cable bridge after the former president, partly as she had chosen bridge-building between both communities in Northern Ireland and between North and South as a central theme while she was in office.
Naming the Boyne bridge in her honour was first suggested by Senator Jim D’Arcy, in public recognition of the work the former president did for the peace process.
However, Mayor of Drogheda Paul Bell (Labour) said he will boycott a proposed renaming ceremony.
He said the bridge “is on our side of the river, and at worst it crosses both jurisdictions. Where has the public consultation been on this?”
Mr Bell said renaming it would impact negatively on Drogheda, and “it is amazing those not from the area are claiming ownership of the bridge”.
He said his office was contacted by Meath County Council to see whether October 16th suited him, but “as Mayor of Drogheda I won’t be in attendance, I have no mandate from the people of Drogheda to endorse the name change, and to attend it would give it a sense of legitimacy”.
Councillors in Co Meath supported the renaming in July, but when councillors in Co Louth were about to debate the move this week Mr Bell told them of the contact from Meath County Council about the ceremony.
This news “was like a bombshell and the situation now needs to be clarified”, said Cllr Linus English (Fine Gael) who proposed renaming the bridge at the Louth meeting.
He said to hear that Meath councillors were making plans before Louth councillors had debated any renaming “was undermining the process in Louth”.
He added: “This is putting the former president in a very awkward position.”
Yesterday, Meath County Council said October 16th was “one of the dates being considered, but no official invitations have been issued”.
It said concerns being expressed about the naming of the bridge by local authority members in Louth had only just come to its attention.
The council said it would work with “our colleagues in Louth to resolve this matter as soon as possible”.