By Conor Sharkey
HIS memory will no doubt live long in the hearts of Strabane people, but now a permanent memorial is to be established to the late councillor Ivan Barr.
It was revealed earlier this week that a Strabane District Council Working Group is to be set up to decide just what form the memorial should take.
A Sinn Fein politician of more than two decades, Councillor Barr passed away in May of this year, following a short illness.
A website has already been established in memory of the 70-year-old by his family. Now however, the people of Strabane are to get a lasting reminder of the veteran councillor.
Prior to a meeting of Strabane District Councillor on Tuesday, books of tributes paid by friends and colleagues were handed over to Mr Barr's wife Judy and the rest of the Barr family.
It was then agreed that something permanent should be put in place, to honour the sheer wealth of work carried out by Mr Barr.
It was accepted that each councillor and indeed the Barr family will have their own ideas of a suitable memorial. For that reason, it was decided that a Working Group would be the best way forward.
Sinn Fein Councillor Danny Breslin told the Chamber: "I think we need a Working Group because there are ideas coming from right, left and centre. I think if we have someone from each party bringing ideas to the table, we can come up with something substantial."
The sentiment was echoed by councillor Brian McMahon who added that once a solid foundation was established, it would be important that the views of the Barr family be considered.
Welcoming the announcement, the Barr family told the Strabane Chronicle their father would have been extremely honoured by the news.
Ivan Jr said: "We only learnt of the proposal on Tuesday when we attended the council offices to receive the Book of Condolences which so many people contributed to in the weeks following dad's death. Needless to say, it was for us an evening of very mixed emotions. Hearing of the proposal and reading the many heartfelt tributes was extremely poignant in that it made us feel very deeply the void that has been left in our lives by dad's death. We also however felt so proud that such a broad section of the Strabane community, his many colleagues and further afield, shared such respect for him and such an appreciation for the work that he did that they want to pay tribute to him in the form of some permanent memorial. One of dad's colleagues remarked that he would be looking down now and squirming at all the fuss and in some ways he was right. Part of the immensity of dad's nature was the fact that he was so modest. We're sure however too that he would feel honoured that people thought so highly of him and of his efforts on behalf of Strabane District. There's no doubt that dad loved this town and loved working on behalf of the people in it. We as a family would like to take this opportunity once again to thank all of those who have been so kind to us since dad's death. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Book of Condolences, to Sharon Maxwell and the staff of Strabane District Council for compiling the book and to all those who are making the effort to keep his memory alive," Ivan said.
