Gone But Not Forgotten Bikers Memorial committee members Brian MacUaid (PRO) and Annemarie Marshall (Chairperson).

Is bikers' garden Gone But Not Forgotten?

Veronica Corr

Published: Sat 2 May 2026, 10:02 AM

“At the minute, on public land in Clones, it seems very difficult unless the five councillors withdraw the decision that they made on the 16th of February.”

That’s the view of Brian Mac Uaid, PRO of Gone But Not Forgotten Bikers Memorial Committee, on an apparent stalemate in relation to the development of a suitable memorial for deceased bikers.

A decision not to proceed with developing the memorial at Páirc Séamus MacCába was made an ‘in-committee’ meeting of councillors from the municipal district in February. It followed a survey and public consultation, which revealed that the majority of residents within a 5km radius of the proposed site did not want the memorial there.

Last month, the committee issued a statement expressing their disappointment, conceding that the project was “over”.

However, on reflection, Brian Mac Uaid and committee chair, Annemarie Marshall, attended the Celt offices in Cavan over Easter to flag a number of concerns they had in terms of how the process was handled and the decision reached.

The Gone But Not Forgotten Bikers first emerged in 1985 with a memorial bike run to honour deceased bikers. It evolved into an interdenominational Mass for deceased bikers, which has been celebrated in Clones Parish going back to 2013.

Four years ago, the Gone But Not Forgotten group approached Monaghan County Council about the possibility of having a memorial garden in Clones since it was the spiritual and historic home of the annual bikers’ memorial Mass. The idea was first conceived by Kieran Gavin, who lost his brother in a motorbike accident. The project was unanimously supported by elected members of Ballybay-Clones Municipal District (MD) when it was first proposed in 2022.

Last year the project went to public consultation with views sought on three shortlisted sites: Roslea Road carpark, Barry McGuigan Park and Páirc Phobail Séamus MacCába.

The bikers had a strong preference for the third option - Brian highlighted how the carpark is close to the mart, while Annemarie said that there were no facilities such as toilets in Barry McGuigan Park.

Asked why their hearts were set on Páirc Phobail Séámus Mac Cába, Brian and Annemarie pointed to the many amenities and said the green area above the playground lends itself to quiet reflection, while widowed parents of bikers can bring their children to play without the need for additional supervision.

The committee say they also offered to fundraise for an extension to the play area.

It’s understood that Waterways Ireland policy prevented the memorial being erected at the Ulster Canal Marina itself. However, committee members had some ideas in mind, such as a fountain or water feature, to link the memorial to the adjoining marina.

Brian understood the committee had a “gentleman’s agreement” with the local authority and public representatives going back over three years.

They feel that agreement was “ripped up” in their faces and ask why the February meeting was so “cloak and dagger” excluding the media from reporting on it.

Brian was referring to the decision at the in committee portion of the MD meeting - not to proceed at that site - following the presentation of a report and survey by the Paul Hogarth Company, commissioned by Monaghan County Council in relation to the site assessment for the memorial garden (highlights from survey below).

The local authority has said that the public consultation phase was "open and transparent" (see full statement below).

The bikers also expressed disappointment at some of the commentary in the report in relation to concerns expressed about the potential “loud noise” of bikes “off-putting” behaviour of some of the bikers attending the annual Mass.

“People seemed to have made-up their minds that bikers are whatever they think they are and that this is going to be something terrible.”

Annemarie added: “This is for the families. Of course bikers are going to visit, but 98% of those visiting are going to be in cars, bereaved grandparents, parents and relations who never sat on a bike in their life or never intend to.”

Gone But Not Forgotten Bikers feel the survey raised more questions than answers. They also highlighted some inaccuracies such as the comment that said the annual Mass happens in Páirc Phobail Seamus MacCába.

Some work had been done in relation to the design of the memorial. While it was going to be “biking related”, it was felt a sculpture of a motorbike could be triggering for some bereft family members.

Annemarie explained that they begged the local authority to progress design and planning via the ‘Part 8’ route.

This can be used by local authorities to obtain planning permission for their own projects. It involves mandatory public consultation, notices in newspapers, and final approval by elected members.

Funding

The committee had raised in the region of €66,000 for the memorial, largely through a GoFundMe set up in 2014 and they say that was mainly based on the understanding that Páirc Phobail Séamus MacCába was the chosen location.

Brian said they are disappointed. He continued: “We’re really annoyed on be half of the people who donated to this, who have lost loved ones, who wanted to see this project go ahead, wanted to see the sculpture and were clinging to it for hope and any wee bit of positivity.”

The survey showed that almost 90% of respondents wanted to see a memorial in Clones.

If not Clones then where? “If somebody has a site and is willing to talk to us, then we’d be willing to talk to them, contact us. Of course, we’ll investigate every possibility because we do want to see it happening,” Brian concluded.

The 22nd Annual Bikers Memorial will take place in the Sacred Heart Church Clones on Friday, May 15, and over 1,000 people are expected to attend.

‘Open and transparent’ public consultation

The Celt asked Monaghan County Council to respond on some of the points raised by the National Bikers’ Memorial Committee.

A spokesperson said the local authority conducted “an open and transparent public consultation” on the proposed development of a bikers’ memorial in Clones.

“In this consultation process, three locations were identified as a potential site for this memorial, respondents were asked to submit comments and their views on all three sites. There was a very high engagement with the public on this consultation with over 1200 responses,” he said.

Asked why a 5km radius of Clones town centre applied for the survey, the council said: “Monaghan County Council engaged an external consultancy firm to manage the consultation process and to review the survey results, to ensure there was no bias. As part of this process, the consultancy firm was asked to analyse the survey results to ascertain if the views of people living in Clones in relation to the bikers’ memorial differed from those living elsewhere.”

In relation to the committee’s view that there was an agreement in place regarding the Séamus MacCába site, the spokesperson said: “At the outset of this project, Monaghan County Council advised the committee that they would explore the possibility of providing a Memorial at Páirc Phobail Séamus Mac Cába, subject to funding availability and necessary consents being obtained.”

Is the local authority still actively seeking another site for a suitable memorial?

“At the February Municipal District meeting, the elected members committed to continue to work with the Gone but Not Forgotten Committee to find a suitable location in Clones.”

What did the survey find?

The Paul Hogarth Company were commissioned to conduct a survey and complete a report to establish what appetite there was for a National Bikers’ Memorial Garden in Clones. A 5km radius from Clones town centre was applied to the results, producing two sets of data. Three shortlisted locations assessed in June 2025 were: Roslea Road carpark; Barry McGuigan Park and Páirc Phobail Séamus Mac Cába.

The preamble to the survey read: ‘This information will be used by the elected members to help inform their decision on whether or not to proceed and, if so, with which site.’

Consultants concluded that there was ‘a high level of engagement and while ‘two-thirds of responses were made from locations outside Clones, almost three-quarters (of respondents) are in the town daily or weekly.’

The public consultation ran from October 20 - November 10, 2025, and 1,204 responses were recorded.

Support for a National Bikers’ Memorial Garden in Clones

Overall: 89.1% in favour; 10.49% against; 0.41% neutral

Clones: 78.6% in favour; 20.1% against; 1.3% void

Comments from respondents

- ‘Due to the annual Mass being held here I think it would be fitting to have an area where families could remember loved ones’

- ‘I’m supportive of a memorial, but only in a location where it doesn’t deprive others of their recreational space’

Roslea Road carpark site

Overall: 62.5% against; 28.27% in favour; 9.25% neutral

Clones: 46.2% against; 32.7% in favour; 21.1% neutral

Comments from respondents

- ‘This site is a concrete eyesore’