By Paul Murphy
Remembrance is not a single day in the calendar but a living act of respect passed from one generation to the next, the Mayor of Drogheda Cllr Michelle Hall told a gathering at Mary Street in Drogheda on Saturday to mark the centenary of the unveiling of the Cenotaph there.
In a ceremony organised by Drogheda Civic Trust in conjunction with Louth County Council, participants from both sides of the border met to mark the occasion with a series of readings, prayer and the placing of wreaths at the familiar memorial which records the names of 368 men from the greater Drogheda area who lost their lives in the Great War (1914-1918). The monument was unveiled on Armistice Day 1925.
The attendance included Drogheda councillors, former councillors, former Mayors of Drogheda, Archbishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Very Rev Eugene Sweeney, Parish Priest, St Peter’s Drogheda, Superintendent Andrew Watters and members of An Garda Siochana, members of the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland clergy, Rev Mervyn Gibson representing the Orange Order, Fr Iggy O’Donovan, Deputy Ged Nash, Members of the Defence Forces, members of the Organisation of Ex-Servicemen and women, Drogheda Brass Band, members of Drogheda Civic Trust and the Old Drogheda Society and members of Louth County Council staff. A prayer service led by Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland clergy also took place.
Mayor Hall said they were gathered to honour the men and women from the Drogheda area who served and sacrificed in times of war. A century on, the memorial at Mary Street continued to stand as a symbol of courage, loss and remembrance and as a reminder of the heavy cost of conflict.
She said she wanted to thank sincerely the relatives of those soldiers who returned to Mary Street year after year to keep their memories alive through their presence. “You remind us that remembrance is not a single day in the calendar but a living act of respect passed from one generation to the next. Today, we also think of those who were left behind – the mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters who endured the long silence of their grief. Their grief became part of the story of this town, woven into our shared history”.
“As we look back we must also look forward. The lessons of the past urge us to keep looking for peace – in our communities, across our island and beyond. Peace is not just the absence of war; it is the foundation on which our society has been rebuilt. It has allowed Ireland to prosper, to grow in confidence and compassion, and to take its place among nations committed to understanding and cooperation”, the Mayor said.
“So today, as we mark this centenary, let us honour the fallen not only with remembrance but with resolve to continue striving for the peace they were denied, and the better world they hoped for”.
To evoke the reasoning, sentiments and atmosphere of what it must have been liked when the memorial was unveiled in 1925, several people were asked to read extracts from reportage of the event. They included John McCullen of the old Drogheda Society and former Mayors of Drogheda Frank Godfrey, Sean Collins, Pio Smith, and Paddy McQuillan. Former Mayor Maria O’Brien Campbell recited a prayer and a Ledwidge poem.
