History of Ballina

General Humbert and the French Landing - 1798

The Centenary memorial (the Humbert Monument) was dedicated on 11 May 1898 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French landing at Killala in support of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The monument was originally sculptured by a Dublin Craftsman but in recent years it has been restored locally. The figure on the monument is not Humbert but Mother Ireland. Maud Gonne, a famous Irish woman, unveiled the monument. At the event Maud Gonne famously poured water over another speaker's (an IRB member) head. The monument was moved to its current location on Humbert Street in 1987, where is was re-dedicated