GLASNEVIN CEMETERY IS urging the family of a man who helped create the famous Jacob’s tricolour to participate in a ceremony celebrating his actions.
Thomas Meldon was one of the makers of the tricolour which was nailed to a flagpole above Jacob’s factory before being removed from its position on Sunday 30 April 1916, after the official surrender.
He, along with two other men, were tasked with finding the materials and creating the flag after the original was “shot or burnt down as the GPO came under fire”, according to the Glasnevin Trust.
The museum wants to get in touch with his descendants as it prepares to accept part of the flag into the Glasnevin Trust.
Iconic
A spokesman said: “Glasnevin Cemetery Museum is seeking to communicate with the relatives of Thomas J Meldon, one of the makers of the Jacob’s Tricolour, in preparation for a donation of part of the flag to the Glasnevin Trust collection. The flag played a significant role in the story of the 1916 Easter Rising.
“The Jacob’s Tricolour was made after the GPO flag had been either shot or burnt down as the GPO came under fire.
“It was decided that a replacement flag be made, and Thomas Meldon, George Ward and a third man Derry Connell (believed to be a nickname) were entrusted with the task of finding the material and creating the flag. The flag was then nailed to a flagpole above Jacob’s factory before being removed from its position on 30 April, after the official surrender.”
Meldon, who was a tailor, lived at 45 Lower Gardiner Street and died on 13 April 1953.
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