Athlone Mans Cemetery Memorial Weighs 37 Tonnes

goldenmick

You couldn't make it up... or could you?

Four Irish flags and 37 tonnes of Italian marble celebrate the life of Athlone man William Collins at a Sheffield cemetery in England. He died in Spain in 2020.

Do you think this is well over the top, or do you think it's fine to have an extravagant "Elvis" style tribute in a public cemetery? More to the point would you have something like this... always assuming you could afford it that is.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-60838880

BorneTobyWilde

Never heard of him, was he famous, or just a .......

eh.. regular man in the street. Must be rich family to afford it

ohnonotgmail

Money can't buy taste.

glenfieldman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118823479#Comment_118823479

Ill gotten gained money

goldenmick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118823474#Comment_118823474

Apparently he was a well known bare-knuckle boxer...

https://showbizcast.com/william-oliver-collins-ireland-sheffield-boxer-age-death-net-worth

josip

9 kids, died at the age of 49. And they know that he went to heaven, not the hot place.

I've searched and my suspicions were confirmed about 'Big Willy', the King.

Atlantic Dawn

Built without permission, wonder will the council do anything or does his family get an exemption over everyone else?

For Forks Sake

Both havens of criminality

For Forks Sake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118823534#Comment_118823534

Stick a Ukrainian flag on it, Russians will have it levelled in five minutes.

T-Maxx

Culture

Feisar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118823534#Comment_118823534

Are our neighbors as culturally sensitive as our good selves?

Captain Barnacles

Pure class

BattleCorp1

They certainly think big. It has a solar powered jukebox built into it. Pure class.

silliussoddius

I expect a future History Channel show on this marvel of modern engineering.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118824316#Comment_118824316

Bizarrely, this Italian dude did it in 2017

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41940005

donegal_man

Maybe trying to establish an English version of Romania's "Merry Cemetery"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ly2Jq25WU3o

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118824815#Comment_118824815

He was about 5 years ahead of his time with that colour scheme.

fryup

they want to call in the army for back up if they intend on dismantling that 😐️ it'll cause ruptions

I hate to see the tricolor on these monstrosities.

Dr Turk Turkelton

One good thing about the Brits is they don't really appreciate "culture".

They won't be long tearing that sh1t down.

touts

Just bulldoze the **** thing.

And repeat every time they stick up another one.

buried

You can't let them break the regulations, if they do, then the next headstone put up will be ten times bigger than this one. This happens all the time over here, Cemetery regulations are broken and nobody dares say a word to them. It's all for show, it's all to out-do the other crowd, and all that money is sent over to India, China, SA, Italy etc for the materials. It's an absolute disgrace and serious questions need to be asked where is this money coming from. If I went in to a local car dealership in the morning and bought a fleet of vans for 240,000 euros, in the afternoon I'd have Revenue breathing down my neck demanding to know where I got the money from.

This has to be put to a stop over here. Their memorials are getting more outlandish and crazier by the year because the rules are not being implemented.

Authorities also have to ask what kind of foundations are being erected underneath the structures, because if the foundation isn't engineered to load the 37 tonne, which this one almost certainly does not, then the next burial that the council digs out could set off a good section of the monument to come crashing down, into the open grave and ergo straight on top of anybody below who is digging out the grave. Mark my words, that scenario will one day happen, really soon in this country, I've seen the foundations for some of these things and they wouldn't hold up a small wooden garden shed. The current regulation implementations in Irish Cemeteries are an absolute joke.

BingCrosbee

He’s not from Athlone. He’s a member of the Limerick ethnic minority group. He’s gone to the Traveller heaven.

Andrea B.

Peter'll be without gates.

laoisgem

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118825928#Comment_118825928

This made me snigger, kudos

fryup

Traveller Heaven?? you mean Rathkeale?

Juran

Daily Mail's latest story is the wife/family are employing around the clock security to prevent the council from touching it. His wife said that council are being Racist as they are traveller, and she would resort to "using violence" is anyone tries to remove the WC monument. I think I,ll book a flight over to watch this show 😁

Hope Sheffield council has more b*lls than the do-gooder council crimbins we have over here.

Yeah, agree with previous poster, its a shame Irish flags are flying over the grave, insult to the Irish living in the UK and the rest of us in Ireland.

Imagine if say an Albanian family built something like that in an Irish cemetary, and flew Albanian flags over it, how quick would local council be in removing it ?? I'd say very quick, compared with a similar structure erected by a 'cultured' Irish clan.

griffin100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118825507#Comment_118825507

Would he be getting a lift to heaven from Hossana in the Hiace?

Be right back

This is a roadside memorial to another traveller.

MakersMark

I actually like it, and the locals, the live ones, don't seem to mind either.

whisky_galore

Classy in death as they are in life.

Crocodile Booze

Jaysus the dole must be very generous over there..

maestroamado

I know a guy who did a job some years ago... nearly 50k... when he told me he was having trouble getting paid... he said he was going to take it down... i never found out how it turned out...

Tom Mann Centuria

Phew if they hadn't been careful it could have turned into an horrendous, tacky eyesore.

Cape Clear

Almost as big as Pierce Doherty's house. Level it end of.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118837422#Comment_118837422

...plenty of narcotics bought/sold, for that one, id imagine!