The 7,000 Irish who fought and died in the American Civil War will be commemorated 150 years on with a national memorial in Ballymote, Co. Sligo.

The town is already home to Ireland’s national monument honoring the Fighting 69th and Brigadier General Michael Corcoran, who was from Carrowkeel, near the town of Ballymote. The base of the Fighting 69th monument (pictured above) is made of steel from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, which was donated by Michael Lynch Memorial Foundation. Michael Lynch was one of the 343 members of New York's Fire Department who died in the 9/11 attacks.

Planning permission is in place for the new monument, which will feature a bronze Civil War soldier on horseback, mounted on a stone plinth.

Minister of State John Perry, who represents Sligo and North-Leitrim, told the Sligo Champion newspaper, “I feel this is a fitting tribute to the countless thousands of Irish emigrants who fought and died on both sides of a tragic conflict."

The monument is expected to reach completion in just a few months and will be inaugurated with a dedication ceremony. President Michael D. Higgins has been invited to attend.

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