PRIDE COLOURS are to be considered for new installations of footpaths and benches across Shannon Town.
Cathaoirleach of the Shannon Municipal District, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) led the call for such a move. She asked the local authority to examine the feasibility of “placing progressive pride colours in with new installations such as footpaths and benches”.
This she said would “mark an inclusive society in Shannon”.
Senior executive engineer in the Shannon MD, Tom Mellett noted that Clare County Council was “a proud supporter” of the Pride celebrations in the county which ran from September 18th to 24th.
He explained, “the use of rainbow or ‘pride’ coloured infrastructure is not specified by any design standards. However, designers do have discretion in other areas such as provision of benches, bollards and certain types of street furniture. Where there is scope to incorporate such measures, they will be considered”.
Multi-colour railings are intended to be introduced when the Town Park in Shannon is painted, he confirmed. “This would be in keeping with the objective of the progressive flag which is a reminder of the struggles people from the LGBTQIA+ community deal with, it is intended to indicative an inclusive, welcome and safe community and so is very much aligned with the design philosophy of the Town Park”.
Speaking at the September meeting of the Shannon MD, Cllr McGettigan stated, “this isn’t just about highlighting Pride, it is about inclusion, the design philosophy is not just about the rainbows, it is about all the colours”.
Seconding the proposal, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) remarked, “it is no harm to brighten up the town a bit”.
Last February, the region’s Pride rainbow pedestrian crossing was installed outside the City and Council offices at Merchant’s Quay. The new addition was installed by Limerick’s Active Travel team as part of its plans to upgrade and improve the city’s pedestrian and cycling network. In July, Mary Immaculate College added a pair of rainbow crossings to its Limerick campus.
