MICHAEL D Higgins carried out his first official function as President of Ireland by attending the Remembrance Sunday service commemorating Ireland’s war dead at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.
Accompanied by his wife Sabina, the President, as head of State, followed a tradition in place since 1993 by attending the remembrance service.
They were welcomed by Dean of St Patrick’s Rev Robert MacCarthy and Retired Maj Gen David O’Morchoe of the Royal British Legion in Ireland, which organised the service.
The event, held on the Sunday closest to November 11th, the anniversary of armistice day in the first World War, was among a number of events in Ireland and internationally to commemorate those who died in war.
The dean said they gathered in thanksgiving and remembrance of those whose lives had been given and taken away in world wars and “conflicts past and present”.
During the evensong service the Last Post was played and Maj Gen O’Morchoe read the remembrance exhortation:
“They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them.”
A minute’s silence was observed in the cathedral, after which the British Legion president read the Kohima epitaph:
“When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For their tomorrow, we gave our today.”
After another moment of silence Mr Higgins laid a laurel wreath while the legion president laid a wreath of poppies at the cathedral’s war memorial.
In his address at the event, journalist and military historian Kevin Myers paid tribute to the President, “the commander in chief of our Defence Forces. Mr President sir, that is surely an honour you will hold close to your heart.”
He noted that this week is the 51st anniversary of the Niemba ambush of Irish soldiers in the Congo and that the Irish Army was back serving Lebanon while Irish soldiers were serving as ordnance officers in Afghanistan on a UN mandate.
The military historian recalled some of the 10,000 Irish people who died serving in the first and second World Wars including 19-year-old sailor Patrick Pearse Murphy who died on HMS Gloriousin 1940 and 21-year-old RAF warrant officer Terence de Valera Dignan who died in 1942.
He also recalled Irish nurses who died in service in the wars, representing 16 per cent of all British military nursing deaths.
Paying tribute to the Irish who died defending freedom across Europe, the newspaper columnist said: “In those liberated lands in due course emerged what is now the European Union. Our bondholders there, who have us on a rack, may be completely unaware of the debt they owe the 10,000 Irish dead, who died freeing an unfree Europe. But at least we in this cathedral do know of it. And we do remember.”
Military and ex-service members, including a small number of second World War veterans and their families, were among the congregation at the service, wearing campaign medals and poppies.
The Government was represented by Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald. Col JJ O’Reilly represented Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Seán McCann. Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin Maria Prodi also attended as did British ambassador Julian King, US ambassador Dan Rooney, and Kenyan ambassador Catherine Muigai Mwangi.
After the service the President and his wife were applauded by a small group of bystanders before leaving for Derry.
