merrion street

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan TD, will today attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Belfast, where he will lay a laurel wreath. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, and the First Minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson MLA, as well as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, will also attend the ceremony.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the Minister said:

“I am pleased to represent the Irish Government for the second year at the Remembrance Sunday commemoration at Belfast City Hall. Men and women from across the island and from all traditions were involved in the First World War, and today’s ceremony is an important opportunity to reflect on their lives and to recognise the impact that this conflict had on countless thousands of families.”

Minister Flanagan also welcomed the publication on Friday of Ireland’s programme to commemorate the 2016 centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

“It is particularly fitting that the Government’s programme to commemorate next year’s centenary of the Somme has been published at a moment when people across the island are coming together to remember the Irish men and women who died in the First World War. In addition to remembering all those who died, and the deep loss felt by their families and communities, this programme of commemorative events will help build an understanding of the events of 1916 in all their complexity and explore how they have resonated through the years since.”

ENDS

Editor’s Note
• Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD will attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen while the Tánaiste Joan Burton TD will attend the annual service in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
• The 2016 Somme Commemorative Programme has four strands: Ceremonial; Historical and Educational; Cultural; and Community Participation. The wide-ranging programme will include a range of cultural, historical, academic and community events that will take place both in Ireland and abroad. The Government will be represented at high-level at commemorations to mark the centenary in France next year, as well as holding a ceremonial State commemoration in Dublin on 9th July 2016. Further details on the programme can be found at www.decadeofcentenaries.ie