Hi, my name is Kenneth, and I am raising funds for a memorial bench at the Forty Foot in Sandycove in memory of my friend James Robert Burke Jr.

This fundraiser has recently changed in scope, and I want to be transparent about why.

Originally, the project included both a memorial bench and a larger restoration initiative in Thurles. After reflection, I decided to separate the two. The restoration work will now be pursued locally, through parish and community involvement. That deserves its own process and community structure.

This fundraiser is now solely for one purpose:

To install a permanent memorial bench for Jim at the Forty Foot.

Why the Bench Matters

Jim loved Ireland. He visited here with me, and he felt a deep connection to the land of his ancestors. The Forty Foot holds special meaning it represents the sea, freedom, reflection, and a quiet strength that suited him.

Jim was a Vietnam veteran and a lifelong mentor to young people. He gave deeply, often quietly, and without expecting recognition.

This bench is not a grand monument.

It is something simple and lasting.

A place to sit.

A place to think.

A place where his name will remain.

If someone sits there and reads his name and wonders, “Who was he?” then Jim is being remembered. That matters.

The Journey

I am completing a personal motorbike journey in his memory. That journey is entirely self-funded. It is something I am doing privately for him and for myself.

The bench is separate.

The bench is for Jim.

It is for his sister Cathy, should she visit Ireland.

It is for those who knew him.

And it is for those who never did.

Funding Goal

The target is €3,000.

This covers:

• Memorial bench installation

• Engraved plaque

• Council approval and installation costs

Any surplus beyond the final invoiced cost will be donated to children’s healthcare services in Ireland.

All invoices will be published publicly.

There are no administration fees.

So in Closing

Jim and I shared a very particular kind of friendship. The kind built on long silences, hard conversations, wilderness competence, and mutual respect.

Not everyone will understand that kind of bond.

That’s okay.

This bench is simply a marker that he was here and that he mattered.

Thank you for helping make that permanent.