Commemoration of Irish deaths in wars or UN peacekeeping missions
National Day of Commemoration
|
---|
Observed by
| Ireland
|
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Date
| Nearest Sunday to 11 July
|
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Frequency
| Annual
|
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In Ireland, the
National Day of Commemoration
(
Irish
:
La Cuimhneachain Naisiunta
) commemorates all
Irish people
who died in past wars or
United Nations peacekeeping
missions.
[1]
It occurs on the Sunday nearest 11 July (see
Irish Calendar
), the anniversary of the date in 1921 that a
truce
was signed ending the
Irish War of Independence
.
[1]
[fn 1]
The principal ceremony is held at the
Royal Hospital Kilmainham
, Dublin, Ireland.
[1]
Background
[
edit
]
The commemoration of Irish soldiers and wars has been fragmented within Ireland for historical and political reasons.
[
citation needed
]
Ceremonies to honour
Irish soldiers who fought in the First World War
have been held in Ireland in November on
Remembrance Sunday
and
Remembrance Day
since the war's end. These are mainly organised by the
Royal British Legion
and observed by
Unionists
[
citation needed
]
and ex-servicemen and relatives. The focal points were
St Patrick's Cathedral
and the
Irish National War Memorial Gardens
, both in Dublin. Though many
Irish nationalists
served in the
British Army
prior to independence, this was not generally held in high esteem by later generations.
[
citation needed
]
Independent Ireland
remained neutral in World War II
, and although thousands of its citizens served in the allied armies, the state did not at first mark this.
[fn 2]
Commemoration of the
Irish War of Independence
was muted by the bitterness of the
Irish Civil War
that followed from it. The preceding 1916
Easter Rising
against
British rule in Ireland
was the focus, with Easter Day considered the "National Day of Commemoration".
[4]
There was a major parade
[
where?
]
each Easter until 1971, when
the Troubles
in Northern Ireland made the commemoration of the earlier
Irish Republican
rebels more problematic in symbolism.
[fn 3]
[5]
Smaller official commemorations persisted at
Arbour Hill Prison
.
[6]
[7]
Within
the Defence Forces
, a Commemoration Day for deceased former members is held on
All Souls' Day
, 2 November.
[6]
[8]
11 July, the anniversary of the 1921 truce, had already been a special Army holiday before being the base date for the National Day of Commemoration.
[6]
Establishment
[
edit
]
In 1974, the
coalition government
proposed
Saint Patrick's Day
as a day for commemorating all Irish people who had given their lives in wars, marked with a message from the President, prayer and a
moment of silence
. The
Fianna Fail
opposition objected.
[9]
In the early 1980s, in response to the Northern Ireland Troubles, the
Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation
in
County Wicklow
was organising "Walks of Remembrance" around sites in
Dublin
significant to all historical combatants.
[1]
In 1983, the
Irish Defence Forces
were represented in the British Legion's Remembrance Sunday service in
Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
, under the
flag of the United Nations
. This was controversial and the Fianna Fail opposition suggested a separate day of commemoration would be more inclusive.
[9]
An informal
Oireachtas
all-party committee was established in late 1984 to examine the question of a single National Day of Commemoration.
[10]
It held four meetings and reported to the government in October 1985.
[11]
The view of this Committee was that there should be a religious service and a military ceremony. This has been the tradition since, although
Noel Treacy
complained that the military presence was "on a small scale compared with that visualised by the all party committee".
[12]
The first National Day of Commemoration was held on 13 July 1986 in the
Garden of Remembrance
.
[1]
[12]
Old IRA
veterans objected to the venue, which commemorates those who died in "the cause of Irish freedom", being used to honour British Army veterans.
[1]
The absence was noted of
Leader of the Opposition
,
Charles Haughey
, and
Lord Mayor of Dublin
,
Bertie Ahern
, both represented by subordinates. This was ascribed to discontent within Fianna Fail about the event.
[13]
Haughey became Taoiseach after the
February 1987 election
. He announced the commemoration ceremony would be replaced by separate church services by the various denominations, with no military or government presence.
[14]
The opposition parties objected, and both sides negotiated a compromise,
[14]
whereby the ceremony, and the commemorative plaque which had been unveiled in 1986 by President
Patrick Hillery
, were moved to the Royal Hospital. This, originally a British Army hospital,
[1]
is now the
Irish Museum of Modern Art
. However Irish Republicans and some IRA veterans of the
Irish War of Independence
objected to the presence of the British Legion at the ceremony.
[1]
Subsequent ceremonies have not proved controversial.
[1]
Ceremonies
[
edit
]
One of the main recommendations made by the All-Party Oireachtas Committee was that the National Day of Commemoration should be organised in a way which would reflect its national importance, which would encourage people of different traditions to participate and which would attract the interest and support of the public. The current service and ceremonies closely follow these recommendations.
The military and religious ceremonies are 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
, relatives of 1916 leaders, next-of-kin of those who died on service with the UN, Northern Ireland representatives and a wide cross-section of the community, including ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen.
Representatives of the three divisions of the Defence Forces parade and render military honours.
Since its inception, music has been provided by the combined bands of the several Army Commands and Dr.
Bernadette Greevy
until her death in September 2008.
The ceremonies begin with an
interfaith
service, comprising prayers, hymns and readings by senior representatives of
the main Christian denominations
and of the
Jewish
and (since 1994
[15]
)
Islamic
faiths.
The military ceremonies include an honour guard of the Cadet School, the laying of a wreath by the President on behalf of the people of Ireland,
Reveille
, the raising of
the national flag
and the playing of
the National Anthem
.
The National Day of Commemoration is, along with
Easter Sunday
,
Easter Monday
, and
Saint Patrick's Day
, one of the days on which the
Department of the Taoiseach
's
protocol
section has advised all government buildings to fly
the national flag
.
[16]
The main 2012 ceremony moved from the Royal Hospital Kilmainham to the
Collins Barracks
campus of the
National Museum of Ireland
, as the Kilmainham site closed for renovation.
[17]
Regional ceremonies are planned for
Sligo
City Hall;
Kilkenny Castle
;
NUI Galway
; Fitzgerald's Park,
Cork
;
Limerick
City Hall; and Bishops Palace Museum,
Waterford
.
[17]
The ceremony returned to the Royal Hospital in 2013.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
- RTE News
reports on past ceremonies:
- 2015
,
2014
,
2013
,
2012
,
2011
,
2010
,
2009
,
2008
,
2007
,
2006
,
2005
,
2004
,
2002
,
2001
,
2000
,
1999