Obelisk mystery solved!
Although the blog has been lying low, it has taken advantage of the winter to attempt to unravel some of last year's mysteries. Tonight a breakthrough was achieved. In December, Susan, Jon, and Abe saw an enormous obelisk from the train on the way from Belfast to Carrickfergus. The obelisk was visible several miles away from the walls of Carrickfergus Castle. But our tourist information did not describe the obelisk, and its significance remained a mystery. A systematic search of websites describing County Antrim finally yielded the answer: it is the County Antrim War Memorial, started in 1922 to honor the men of Country Antrim who fell in the Great War. The Countess of Antrim laid the foundation stone, but apparently the project ran over budget and was not completed until the late 1930s...after WWII the monument was rededicated to honor the dead of both wars...renovation projects were completed in 1985 and 2006. The top photo is from the Ulster War Memorial web site; the lower was taken by Abe from Carrickfergus. Jon, I know that you have better photos taken from the train and I will post them if you send them to me. Next time we are in Belfast we should go to the top of the hill, as the view must be grand. It is also called the Knockagh Monument (Knockagh means "hill place" in Irish).
Although the blog has been lying low, it has taken advantage of the winter to attempt to unravel some of last year's mysteries. Tonight a breakthrough was achieved. In December, Susan, Jon, and Abe saw an enormous obelisk from the train on the way from Belfast to Carrickfergus. The obelisk was visible several miles away from the walls of Carrickfergus Castle. But our tourist information did not describe the obelisk, and its significance remained a mystery. A systematic search of websites describing County Antrim finally yielded the answer: it is the County Antrim War Memorial, started in 1922 to honor the men of Country Antrim who fell in the Great War. The Countess of Antrim laid the foundation stone, but apparently the project ran over budget and was not completed until the late 1930s...after WWII the monument was rededicated to honor the dead of both wars...renovation projects were completed in 1985 and 2006. The top photo is from the Ulster War Memorial web site; the lower was taken by Abe from Carrickfergus. Jon, I know that you have better photos taken from the train and I will post them if you send them to me. Next time we are in Belfast we should go to the top of the hill, as the view must be grand. It is also called the Knockagh Monument (Knockagh means "hill place" in Irish).
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