War memorial restoration work begins

Work has begun to restore a war memorial in County Tyrone that has been vandalised twice this year.

The monument in Strabane is part of a wider restoration project across the Derry City and Strabane District Council area that will see work also carried out on the memorials in Londonderry city centre, Castlederg and Sion Mills.

It is being funded by the PEACE Plus Programme, with support from the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Karen Phillips, from Derry City and Strabane District Council, said the work ensures the memorial "is carefully conserved and enhanced for future generations".

"We look forward to seeing the transformation of the memorial over the coming months and to working with our partners to maximise the positive impact of this important initiative," she said.

In April, two attacks on consecutive days saw an offensive sectarian term painted on the memorial.

Those incidents were described by police as sectarian hate crimes, while the local chairman of the Royal British Legion said it was "sad and upsetting" to see the memorial attacked.

Reverend Sean McClafferty, chaplain of the Strabane branch of the Royal British Legion, said the 57-year-old memorial was in need of restoration.

The work will update and revamp it, he said, adding new information boards would "help educate certain sections of the public that maybe need to be educated".

"The War Memorial to us is very important, he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"It's a lasting and eternal tribute to the men from the Strabane area who did go off and did fight in two world wars and in recent conflicts since.

"It's a sacred space, it's an important space," he said.

McClafferty said the work should be "done and dusted" ahead of the annual day of remembrance in November.

Philips said the conservation work involves "much more than preserving historic structures".

She said accompanying outreach work would "create opportunities for people from different backgrounds and traditions to come together, learn about our shared history and engage in meaningful conversations around local history, understanding and reconciliation".

That outreach work is being delivered by RAPID, North West Cultural Partnership and Creggan Enterprises and will engage with local schools and community groups.

The work is being carried out by conservation specialists Irish Stone.