Survey Data

Reg No

22108050


Rating

Regional


Categories of Special Interest

Artistic, Historical


Original Use

Monument


Date

1905 - 1910


Coordinates

188919, 135732


Date Recorded

20/06/2005


Date Updated

--/--/--


Description

Freestanding monument, erected 1907, commemorating the execution of three political activists in 1867. Relocated to this corner site in 2003. Composed of carved limestone female figure on base depicting portraits of three executed men, and pedestal with stepped plinth having dressed limestone bollards at corners. Portraits carry name in Irish of each man. Situated on stone flagged pavement behind wrought-iron railings, with information board and rubble stone planters. Painted roughcast rendered screen walls of neighbouring buildings to rear.

Appraisal

This memorial to the Manchester Martyrs, is a landmark piece of sculpture, now located in a prominent corner site. The choice of a female figure for such a memorial has been seen as the personification of Ireland, fused with the Virgin Mary, as Irish identity during that era was tied up with Catholicism. It is a naturalistic and evocative piece of work, made all the more striking by the life-like portraits of the executed men.