13.07.2014
National Day of Commemoration takes place in Kilmainham Hospital
The annual National Day of Commemoration Ceremony, to honour all those Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations, was held in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, this morning.
The ceremony was attended by the President, the Taoiseach, the Government and the Council of State, as well as members of Dáil and Seanad Éireann, the Diplomatic Corps, the Judiciary and Northern Ireland representatives. The Church of Ireland was represented by Archbishop Michael Jackson.
The next–of–kin of those who died in past wars or on UN service and a wide cross–section of the community including ex–servicemen’s organisations, as well as relatives of the 1916 Leaders, were also invited.
During the ceremony the Taoiseach invited representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths to lead an act of commemoration, each according to their own tradition. Rabbi Zalman Lent, representing the Jewish community in Ireland, led a Jewish Prayer. Christian prayers were led by the Revd Dr Heather Morris, former President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Revd Fr Godfrey O’Donnell of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Rt Revd Dr Michael Barry, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Most Revd Dr Eamonn Walsh, Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin. The Islamic prayer was delivered by Imam Sheikh Hussein Halawa of the Islamic Cultural Centre. Archbishop Jackson read from Scripture.
Photo caption: President Michael D Higgins prepares to inspect the Guard of Honour with the Faith leaders in the background.