“It’s missing from the horizon all across Hacketstown, Clonmore, the Rathvilly area” says Carlow councillor Brian O’Donoghue of local landmark downed in storm
It's also claimed the area is where eagles were last seen in Ireland
A push is on to reinstall a well known local landmark on Eagle Hill in Hacketstown.
The area’s Easter Parade last Sunday saw a participating float lament the loss of the cross which fell down during a storm.
Inspired by this, the Tullow Municipal District meeting this week took a decision to follow-up on the structure’s status.
Cllr Brian O’Donoghue says it’s important steps are taken, telling KCLR News “It’s private land so we have to try and figure out where to go and how to get it erected but it’s a huge landmark in the area and it’d be wonderful to get it put back up so whether we say I suppose liaise with the OPW, the Office of Public Works, and discuss with the landowner about a possible route to follow to get the cross back up but certainly it’s missing from the horizon all across Hacketstown, Clonmore, the Rathvilly area so it’d be great to get it back up”.
Describing it he says; “Parts of it obviously had electronics because it was lit up at night time, parts of it were wood and there seems to be metal tips on it as well, I wouldn’t be great on the technical specifications of it but it was a huge cross and could be seen for miles, it’s reported you could see it from seven counties when it’s up but it came down in the storm and we have to try and see what we can do now to get it put back up because certainly, it’s missing from the night’s skyline in county Carlow”.
Cllr O’Donoghue also says “It’s a remarkable little hill, when you get to the stop to it you feel like you’re almost on top of the world, a fabulous little hill, and it’s just there between Clonmore and Hacketstown, they say it’s the last place an eagle was seen in Ireland, how true that is I couldn’t be certain but it’s a fabulous little landmarking, as soon as you come passed Rathvilly from the Baltinglass direction it appears on the landscape and it’s a fabulous local landmark so we should do our absolute utmost to make sure it’s kept as viable as possible”.
