National Day of Commemoration – Sunday 10 July 2016

Posted on: August 3, 2016

Throughout Ireland, the National Day of Commemoration, An Lá Comórtha Náisiúnta, took place on Sunday, 10 July 2016. The principal event was held at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Dublin. Events were also held in Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo and Galway. The purpose of the commemoration is to remember all those Irish soldiers who lost their lives in war or with the United Nations. The National Day of Commemoration occurs on the Sunday nearest to the 11 July, the anniversary of the date in 1921 when a truce was signed ending the War of Independence. The first National Day of Commemoration was held on 13 July 1986 in the Garden of Remembrance during which a commemorative plaque was unveiled by President Patrick Hillery. The ceremony was moved to the Royal Hospital in 1987.

The Royal Hospital was built between1680 and 1684 as a hospital for retired soldiers of the British Army. Based on Les Invalides in Paris, it predates the Royal Hospital in Chelsea by two years. It is the oldest neoclassical building in Ireland and was handed over to the Irish Free State in 1922. Since 1991, it is the home of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

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The Commemorative Plaque in the Royal Hospital carries the following inscription: “In honour of all those Irishmen and Irishwomen, who died in past wars, or on service with the United Nations”.

The military and religious ceremonies were held in the presence of the President, the Taoiseach and other members of the Government of Ireland, members of the Oireachtas, the Council of State, the Diplomatic Corps, the Judiciary, the Defence Forces, next-of-kin of those who died on service with the United Nations, Northern Ireland representatives, a wide cross-section of the community, representatives of Regimental Associations and Veterans Associations, and a considerable number of ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen.

The ceremonies commenced at 1100hrs with the arrival of An tUachtarán Michael D. Higgins and the inspection of a Captain’s Guard of Honour, drawn from the three components of the Defence Forces namely the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps under the command of Captain Peter Kelleher, 27 Infantry Battalion.

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Representatives of the various Faith Traditions in Ireland participated in a multi-faith commemoration.

Music interludes were provided by Ms Collette Delahunt and the Band of the 1st Brigade Band and Pipers from the School of Music, under the direction of Captain Brian Prendergast.

The President laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Ireland. This was followed by a period of one minute’s silence terminated by the firing of a 25 Pounder Gun Howitzer by the
2 Artillery Regiment. Military honours were rendered by a Cadet Guard of Honour, with instrumentalists from the Band of the 1st Brigade sounding the Last Post and Reveille.

The ceremony was concluded with the playing of The National Anthem and a fly past flown by PC9s from the Air Corps.

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After the ceremony, the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust CLG hosted a luncheon on behalf of the Department of An Taoiseach. Reinforcing the cross-border nature of the Trust’s activities, attendees included representatives of the Royal Irish Regiment, Combined Disbanded Irish Regiments Association, Royal Irish Regiment Association, the Somme Heritage Centre, the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum, the Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers Museum, and the RUC Federation.

View a our Flickr Gallery of the Lunch >>

In addressing the attendees, the Trust’s Chairman Brigadier-General Paul Pakenham (Retd) stated, inter alia, Today, we recall with gratitude and respect, all Irish Soldiers who were exposed to the hostile and volatile events that occurred in areas of conflict, including peacekeeping, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice with courage and conviction.

They include Irish soldiers who fought and died 100 years ago during the Battle of Verdun, The Easter Rising, Battle of Jutland and Battle of the Somme.

According to the Irish Times Editorial of 01 July 2016, the first day of the Battle of the Somme was “the worst day of the worst battle in human history when 19,240 soldiers died, including 2,000 of the 36th Ulster Division, and the 599 dead of the Tyneside Irish who marched into battle behind the regimental piper playing the Minstrel Boy”.

No one tradition, narrative or perspective, is diminished by honouring and remembering the extraordinary self-sacrifice and courage of so many Irish Soldiers who died during 1916.

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