Wexford town remembers those killed in WWII bomb attacks

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Shelbourne Co-op, Campile, Wexford

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On the 70th Anniversary of the German bomb attacks, during World War II, in the village of Campile, County Wexford,  church bells rang out.

During the 1940 blast three women were killed when four Luftwaffe bombs were dropped over the Shelbourne Co-op in Campile. As the bells rang out members of the public met at the site of the former creamery to remember the dead.

This weekend will also see the survivors and relatives witness the unveiling of a memorial gardens and sculpture site. Among the guests at the unveiling will be German Ambassador, Busso von Alvensleben, and Fisheries Minister, Sean Connick.

Mr Connick said "I think the people in the village will appreciate the German ambassador attending the event…Terrible things are done in wartime and in peacetime we commemorate the people who tragically lost their lives.

“There were very few bombings in Ireland during the Second World War so to lose three people in one village was a very big event.
“These were three women who went to work and never came back – we should never forget them.”

One of the organizers of Saturday’s event, Councilor Larry O’Brien, said the bombings would never be forgotten by the Wexford people.
“The impact was devastating for miles and miles around…All those people were back at work the following morning.

“Three of their friends had been killed. They didn’t know why the place was targeted or for what reason and we still don’t know.”

“At the time the Shelbourne Co-op was the centre of the village, there were hundreds of people working there,” Mr O’Brien said.
“If it had happened earlier, there would have been a lot more killed.”

The three women who were killed were Kathleen Hurley (27) and sisters Mary Ellen (30) and Kitty Kent (26). They were in the Co-op’s canteen when the bombs fell. Just moments before the room had been full of workers eating lunch.

On Saturday a contemporary sculpture made with rare Italian marble will be unveiled in a garden in County Wexford. The sculpture was created by, Wexford artist, Ciaran O’Brien and his German partner Anika Lintermann. It was commissioned by local developers who acquired the site of the old Co-op in 2008.I think the people in the village will appreciate the German ambassador attending the event,” Mr Connick said.

“Terrible things are done in wartime and in peacetime we commemorate the people who tragically lost their lives.

“There were very few bombings in Ireland during the Second World War so to lose three people in one village was a very big event.

“These were three women who went to work and never came back – we should never forget them.”

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