Unveiling of Joe Dolan statue in Mullingar

Upwards of 5,000 people are expected to descend on Mullingar this coming weekend to witness the unveiling of a life size statue commemorating one of the town"s finest sons, and arguably one of the country"s greatest ambassadors of song, Joe Dolan.The esteem in which the late singer, whose premature death occurred on St. Stephen"s Day last year, is held is reflected in the fact the official ceremony will be conducted by An Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, T.D.No stone has been left unturned to ensure that the celebration weekend is an outstanding success and the business community of Mullingar and further afield have played an active role in projecting a positive image of the town in line with this very special weekend.Joining Mr. Cowen at the official function, which takes place in the Market Square, Mullingar on Sunday afternoon, December 7 at 2pm will be the Chairman of Westmeath County Council, Mr. Joe Whelan and Joe"s brother, Ben who travelled the length and breadth of the country throughout his career.The County Council have played a lead role in the presentation of the weekend and particularly in relation to Sunday"s activities. Conscious that the event could bring unprecedented numbers of Joe"s fans to the town, special screens will be erected so that everybody will see all of the ceremony, which will feature a segment of the award winning Joe Dolan - the Reunion Show. The two screens will be erected at the junction of Oliver Plunkett Street, facing towards Dominick Street and below the Market Square facing in the direction of Lower Pearse Street and Castle Street.In order to facilitate the preparations in the centre of the town on Sunday, the Council working in close conjunction with the Gardai, have elected to close a number of streets for much of the day. Traffic will be prohibited from entering Martins Lane, Mount Street Upper, Pearse Street Upper and Oliver Plunkett Street from 12 midnight on Saturday and the restrictions will remain in place until approximately two hours after the event, in the interests or health and safety.Civil Defence personnel, along with Council staff, will be deployed to steward the event while the local unit of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps will mobilise all its members to provide first aid cover. A designated emergency route will be in operation and the public are requested to comploy with the directions of stewards on the day.As the countdown to the big day continues,Westmeath Examiner Ben Dolan told the Westmeath Examiner that he was looking forward to it with great enthusiasm.On Sunday, joined by his brothers Paddy and Vincent and members of their family, Ben will watch, Brian Cowen officially unveil the commemorative statue of their brother. Although Ben hasn"t managed to get a look at the bronze monument, he"s excited about seeing the finished product.'I haven"t seen the finished article yet. My son went up to Dublin to see it the other day, and he said it was fantastic. A great likeness,' Ben said, adding that the monument will stand on a plinth nine inches high, featuring two brass plaques.'We had a lot of meetings to get to where we are now. Westmeath County Council and Mullingar Town Council were the inspiration behind the whole thing, and they were very agreeable from the word go.'I hope it"s a busy weekend for the town, because they"ve been behind us one thousand percent. The good will in Mullingar is fantastic, and you got a glimpse of that at Ronan Casey"s book launch. I was as proud as punch that night.'