The book 'Remembering Mayo’s Fallen Heroes' was launched by Mr Peter Oborne the very well known British & international political journalist and award-winning author in the Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar on Friday the 26th of September 2008. The book is a remarkable chronicle of articles, facts and stories about those who served & died in the various wars of the past century. While this book is largely from the author's own work and research, there are many excellent contributions from noted Irish authors Kevin Myers, Myles Dungan, Mr Terry Reilly, Captain Donal Buckley and Mr Basil Burke, together with fine additional contributions from Ethel Corduff, John Basquille, Captain V M McEllin, Johnny Mee and Eamon Horkan, it contains interesting articles and stories from family members and from the local Mayo Newspapers of the period.

The book offers an important account of the fallen commemorated in the Mayo Peace Park, Garden of Remembrance, which in the fullness of time should prove a valuable historical reference for students of local history and the people of Mayo for generations to come. No public grant aid was received for this publication; it was been funded from the author’s own resources and from the advertising sold to defray the various costs of production and printing.

He wishes to convey his personal thanks to all those who helped out in any way, in particular to Ernie Sweeney and John Basquille for working on the advertising and to the advertisers themselves for supporting the book. He wants to thank Mr Johnny Mee for proof reading the book and for his ongoing astute contributions and observations. It would not have been possible to print this book in the short time frame allowed, were it not for the outstanding work and skills of Declan Durcan and Karl Anne Wilson at Visual Impact Ltd, their courtesy and support was exceptional, no words could adequately describe their commitment and dedication to get the job done on time and to the highest standard.

This book was written, produced and published in Mayo, the author was given all the usual advice about going to China, to save costs, but he firmly believed we all have a duty of care to support our own Irish business, so special thanks is extended to Johnny Jordan and the staff of the Connaught Telegraph who did a magnificent job in printing the book.

The book is available for sale at euro20 per copy, plus postage & packaging, it can be obtained directly from Mr Michael Feeney MBE, Milebush, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, or by contacting the author  info@mayopeacepark.ie.

Your support would be much appreciated.

Peter Oborne, Journalist & Author

Mr Peter Oborne, is a very highly regarded British journalist and political commentator, he was educated at Sherborne School and at the University of Cambridge. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph; He is a prize-winning author and is well known & recognised as a political pundit and for his superb TV documentaries working with Francis Weaver. In 2002, he won the 'William Hill Sports Book of the Year' award for his highly regarded biography on international Cricket Star Basil D’Oliveira.

"In between many serious conferences and very heavy workload, I took the time off, to fly over to County Mayo in the West of Ireland, for a very moving event. I was invited over to Castlebar to launch a particularly important book. It was now more than 60 years after the end of World War Two and Ireland was finally beginning to acknowledge its war dead from the World Wars, indeed until very recently wearing a poppy in Ireland invited open hostility. One of the many benefits of the peace in Northern Ireland, was a new attitude.

In County Mayo, local historian Michael Feeney was the inspiration behind the development of the Mayo Peace Park, a truly magnificent memorial to commemorate the Irish fallen in all the wars of the 20th century. The names of all the local casualties are all listed on a wall. Michael had also produced a wonderful book, 'Remembering Mayo's Fallen Heroes,' to accompany the opening of the Mayo Peace Park.

In Ireland "The world war dead were never spoken about", he told me at the book launch, he said that in his school days, the subject would never come up. Michael Feeney told me that he had first called for a commemoration memorial more than twenty years before and people had said to him : what war dead? They genuinely did not know that Irishmen had died in such large numbers, let alone their own local people. I have since told many British MPs about the Mayo Peace Park, Garden of Remembrance and they have has shown a real interest & fascination. I feel proud to have been selected and invited to launch this particular book and to have had the opportunity to visit the magnificent Mayo Peace Park in Castlebar". Peter Oborne, 26th of September 2008.

Read Ireland Book Reviews - Issue 432

'Remembering Mayo’s Fallen Heroes' compiled by Mr Michael Feeney MBE.

This wonderful book is reflective of all those commemorated in the new Mayo Peace Park, Garden of Remembrance, from World War One, Spanish Civil War, World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, and those who died with the Irish Defence Forces whilst serving on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

It is a very interesting read, full of articles, stories and facts, with serious contributions from a number of national & local authors. It has a comprehensive list of the names & details of those who died in those wars and conflicts. It is a very important historical book, for students of local history in Ireland.

It was written & produced in County Mayo and paid for out of his own resources without any grant aid.