 The choice of a female figure as the personification of Ireland for such a memorial was common at the time.It is a naturalistic and evocative piece of work, made all the more striking by the lifelike portraits of the executed men.The first engagement of the Irish War of Independence took place at nearby Solloghead Beg Quarry on 21 January 1919 when Dan Breen and Seán Treacy led a group of volunteers in an attack on members of the Royal Irish Constabulary who were transporting gelignite.