Nenagh in Co Tipperary, a town with a tradition of athletic achievement, will erect an £80,000 sculpture to honour its Olympic gold medal winners. The sculpture will comprise three life-sized bronze statues of Olympic champions Johnny Hayes, Matt McGrath and Bob Tisdall. A fundraising initiative will be officially launched on Wednesday.
Hayes won the marathon at the London Olympics in 1908; McGrath won the 16lb hammer event in Stockholm in 1912; and Tisdall won the 400 metres hurdles in Los Angeles in 1932.
The three men are being honoured because of their Nenagh connections. Hayes, from New York, was the eldest child of Michael Hayes, from Silver Street, Nenagh. McGrath, a police officer, who served as director of the Manhattan traffic division, was born in Curraghmore in the Arra hills near Nenagh.
Tisdall, although born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), lived at Summerhill in Nenagh, and later at Hazelpoint near Dromineer outside the town. He is the oldest surviving Olympian in the world and jogged 500 yards, at the age of 93, as part of the Olympic 2000 torch relay.
Cork-based sculptor-artist Geanne Rynhart is crafting the memorial statue. It will be placed near Nenagh Castle on the N52 outside the town's courthouse.
The initiative will be officially launched by Ronnie Delaney, who won the 1,500 metres gold at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, at the Abbey Court Hotel on Wednesday.
Councillor Maire Hoctor (FF), chairwoman of the Tipperary Olympic Gold Memorial Committee, which is organising the project, said the launch hoped to encourage public contributions.
So far, £50,000 of the £80,000 needed has been raised through contributions from the National Roads Authority and local business contributions. Ms Hoctor is confident the remainder of the money can be collected locally.