Remembrance Ceremonies – Sunday, 13 November, 2016

Posted on: February 1, 2017

Remembrance Ceremonies – Sunday, 13 November, 2016

Throughout Ireland, Remembrance Ceremonies were held commemorating those who died in the First World War.  Ceremonies were also conducted at the Cenotaph in London.

Northern Ireland

For the fifth consecutive year, An Taoiseach Mr Enda Kenny TD joined Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster MLA at a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the Irish war dead at the Remembrance Day Service in Enniskillen, on Sunday, 13 November. 

Mr Kenny laid a wreath of green laurels alongside the many red poppies at the County Fermanagh town’s war memorial.

Picture by Niall Carson, Press Association

Concurrently, An Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald TD laid a laurel wreath at a Remembrance Day Service in Belfast.  Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire MP, and Junior Minister Alastair Ross MLA, as well as the Lord Mayor of Belfast Brian Kingston, also attended the ceremony.

Speaking at the event, the Minister, whose grandfather served in the British Army and whose father was a Colonel in the Irish Army, said, inter alia: “So many people across the island lost their lives; 50,000 families affected by loss of a loved one during the First World War.  “We have had a government minister here since 2012 and I think it is really important to come together, to remember together and to look at our shared histories.

Archbishop Richard Clarke, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Archbishop Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, jointly laid a wreath at the War Memorial on the Mall, Armagh.  Following the ceremony, both Archbishops attended the Service at Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh.  The act of jointly laying a wreath in remembrance follows on from both Archbishops leading a special centenary peace pilgrimage to significant First World War sites of battle of 1916 in France and Belgium in June 2016.  The Archbishops made the pilgrimage with a group of young adults drawn from both Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic traditions from across the island of Ireland.

Cenotaph London

H.E. Mr Dan Mulhall, Ireland’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom laid a laurel wreath at London’s Cenotaph Remembrance Ceremonies on Remembrance Sunday attended by Queen Elizabeth II.

St Patrick’s Cathedral – Dublin

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Brendan Carroll and Minister Heather Humphreys TD, representing the Government, attended the Ecumenical Service of Remembrance in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.  The President and An Taoiseach were represented by their Aides-de-Camp. The Choral Evensong was led by the Dean Very Revd William Morton and sung by the Cathedral Choir (Schola and Men’s Voices).  The lessons were read by H.E. Mr Robin Barnett CMG, Ambassador of the United Kingdom and Mr Gerry Moore, St Columba’s Comprehensive School Glenties.  The Exhortation was delivered by Lieutenant-Colonel Ken Martin, Chairman Royal British Legion.  The preacher was the Very Revd Houston McKelvey OBE, Honorary Chaplain, Royal Naval Reserve.

Wreaths were laid at the War Memorial in the North Transit by Minister Humphries on behalf of the Government and the President of the Royal British Legion Major-General David O’Morchoe.

Attendance also included the Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghail TD, Attorney-General Máire Whelan, the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France, representatives of the Defence Forces, Veteran Associations and Regimental Associations.   The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust was represented by its Chairman, Brigadier-General Paul Pakenham (Retd) and Lieutenant-Colonel Eamonn Fogarty (Retd).

Photographs of the service in St Patrick’s Cathedral courtesy of Patrick Hugh Lynch

Link to Military Heritage of Ireland Trust’s Image Gallery >>

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