Community memorial stone dedicated to ‘Mr Greencastle’

A MEMORIAL stone has been unveiled in commemoration of a widely-respected pillar of the Greencastle community, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Oliver McCullagh was the founder of the famous Greencastle 5-mile Boxing Day run and, for 36 years, was the chief organiser of the popular event, which attracts competitors from across the North.

But Mr McCullagh was deeply involved in so many different aspects of his home community that he was referred to as ‘Mr Greencastle’ at his funeral Mass.

Paying his own tribute, local independent councillor, Emmet McAleer, said Mr McCullagh had been a massive figure within the Greencastle community.

Mr McAleer said, “He was a pillar of the community and someone who had been around for so long. People turned to him when they were in need. While he best known for organising the Greencastle Run, he was also someone with the best interests of the whole community at heart.”

Now, on what would have been Mr McCullagh’s birthday, a memorial stone commemorating the much-missed community stalwart was unveiled, with the inscription, “Preserve and Cherish Our Land”, along with his name.

In a tribute on social media, a spokesperson for the Greencastle Peoples’ Office (GPO) anti-goldmining campaign said, “The anti-mining campaign was just a small part of Oliver’s life, throughout the years he had done many things to promote Greencastle in a positive way, he quietly and unnoticed helped many people in the parish, never taking the credit but letting others shine.

“If you travelled anywhere in Ireland and mentioned his name people would either have knew or heard of him, he was the cog that kept Greencastle moving forward.”