A monument commemorating a 14-year-old solider, the youngest to die in the first World War, as well as all the other Irish men and women who died in armed conflict at home and abroad, is to be erected in Waterford city.
The sculpture will be placed on a 75 square metre site at the junction of Henrietta Street and the Quay in memory of Waterford native John Condon.
He was born in Ballybricken around the turn of the last century and worked as a boy bottler before the outbreak of war. Local historians believe that the boy's decision to enlist may have been influenced by the statements of the leader of the Nationalist Party, John Redmond, MP for Waterford. It is certain that he was under military age when he enlisted, although no notice was taken of this until after his death.
Condon was posted in December 1914 to the Second Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment at Flanders. On April 22nd, 1915, the Germans opened their second attack on Ypres with a devastating new weapon - chlorine gas.
The battle lasted about a month, and ended after a final desperate assault on May 24th, 1915, when the Germans, ex- hausted, suspended offensive operations.
John Condon lay among the dead, although his body was not recovered until 1923 when it was reinterred in Poelkapelle Cemetery. The only personal item returned to his family was a piece of boot bearing his regimental number - 6322.
The stone erected to his memory in Poelkapelle by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his age as 14, and he is said to be the youngest allied soldier to die in the first World War.
The sculpture, designed by local artist Pat Cunningham and Tramore-based architect Anne Harpur, will depict four guardian bronze figures with their heads bowed, surrounding a central space which will represent a resting place for all the souls lost in conflict.
On the inside of the figures will be inscribed the word "peace" encased in gold, reflecting the light. At night a light at the base will light up the night sky, while at 5.20 a.m. on the May 24th - John Condon's anniversary - the sun will shine directly through the centre of the sculpture.