Panorama of Enniskillen taken from Coles Monument. The centre of Enniskillen can be seen from South West College to the left of the photo right across the town to the two Churches and Portora Royal Grammar School in the distance on the right Picture: Ronan McGrade
ONE of Enniskillen’s most prominent landmarks will reopen to the public this week.
Cole’s Monument, which stands towering over the town in Forthill Park, will reopen its viewing platform to the public from this Sunday, May 1.
To reach the platform, visitors have to take the original nineteenth-century 108-step staircase, which will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 1-3pm, May-September, and on various days throughout these months. Admission is free.
A guide from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will be on hand during these times to escort groups of up to eight people at any one time up and down the staircase, and to provide a history of the tower and the town.
The monument itself features what is known as a “Doric” column, and is topped by a statue of the Honourable Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole (1772-1842), who was a general in the Peninsular War against Napoleon and later became Governor of Cape Colony. During the wars with France, Sir G Lowry Cole served in the French West Indies, Martinique and Guadeloupe. The names of these and other campaigns in which he was involved are engraved on the side of the monument.
He was also a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons for the family seat of Enniskillen from 1797 to 1800, and represented Fermanagh in the British House of Commons in 1803.
Built from 1845-1857 on a drumlin site in memory of Sir G Lowry Cole , who was the second son of the first Earl of Enniskillen, there is also an inscription above the door of the monument which reads, “In memory of General the Honourable Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, CB., Colonel of the 27th Regiment, Erected by his friends.”
Cole’s Monument is one of two high quality memorials in Forthill Park. The other is Plunkett’s Bandstand, a Vitorian gem erected in 1895 in recognition of the work of Thomas Plunkett, who served for many years on the Enniskillen Board of Guardians and the Town Commissioners and was responsible for many improvements in Enniskillen including the redevelopment of the Forthill Pleasure Grounds.
Full details of Cole’s Monument opening hours are available by visiting Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s website, www.fermanaghomagh.com or by contacting Fermanagh Visitor Information Centre on 028 6632 3110.
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