Proposal to name bridge after Fiona Pender

Tullamore Town Council will be asked to name a new footbridge over the Grand Canal after missing Offaly woman Fiona Pender.

The 25-year-old hairdresser and part-time model was seven months pregnant when she disappeared from her apartment on Church Street in Tullamore in August 1996.

Sinn Fein Cllr Brendan Killeavy will put forward a motion to name a new footbridge across the Grand Canal in her memory at the council meeting on Thursday. The new footbridge connects Tullamore town with Connolly Park, where Fiona grew up and her mother Josephine still resides.

“Fiona and her baby have been missing now for over 16 years and i think its important from a council point of view to formally acknowledge this,” said Cllr Killeavy.

"What better way to do this as to name the bridge the 'Fiona Pender Bridge ' to keep her memory alive in Tullamore," he added.

The motion outlines how Fiona “used the old footbridge on a daily basis down through the years” and states the proposed name “would be a fitting tribute to Fiona and the Pender Family.”

Cllr Killeavy is hoping for cross party support for the motion. Fiona’s mother Josephine and brother John are understood to be in favour of the proposal.