First headstones of Irish soldiers killed in World Wars unveiled

IRISH SOLDIERS who served in the first and second World Wars, who are buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, were for the first time commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, yesterday.

In what was described as a “special day for the cemetery”, the war graves commission unveiled the first of 90 headstones it plans to erect on the graves of servicemen and women who were buried in “paupers’ graves” in the cemetery.

Another 120 servicemen and women have been identified by the Glasnevin Trust, which runs the cemetery, as having been buried in family plots or individual “purchased” graves. Their families will be offered suitable memorials.

All 210 soldiers were killed in either the first or second World Wars, or died later from injuries. The war graves commission said its headstones will be erected before Christmas, but if it took a lifetime to commemorate all those who died, it would be done.

The first headstone unveiled yesterday was that of Martin Carr of the Connaught Rangers, who died on July 4th, 1916, in a Dublin workhouse from lung damage received in the trenches. Another was Michael Leo Connolly of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died from injuries inflicted during the first World War. The others commemorated yesterday were Thomas Goff of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died in November 1918, and Michael Kavanagh of the Royal Artillery who died in July 1942.

Glasnevin Trust historian Shane MacThomais said all headstones would be individually placed over the appropriate grave and would contain details of the serviceman or woman and their regiments.

John Green, chairman of Glasnevin Trust, said the occasion was “ a special day for the cemetery”. Until now, the grave selected for the ceremony had been denoted only by plot reference number UG481/2. The soldiers killed in the wars were part of a group in Ireland “whose situation has never been resolved here”. But, he said, the soldiers were “all volunteers who didn’t expect to die. We don’t judge and we don’t care. We just wish to remember,” he added.

War graves commissioner and British Labour MP Alan Meale said the ceremony had a particular poignance as he himself was the great-great grandson of an Irish emigrant who had joined the British armed forces. He paid tribute to the Glasnevin Trust and said he was extremely pleased to be erecting headstones in an “iconic cemetery” founded on principles of ensuring issues of race, religion, creed, or culture should not affect an individual’s burial.

Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works Dr Martin Mansergh said the sacrifice of those who died “should not be left out of the nation’s consciousness”. It would be an injustice, he said, not to appreciate that one-quarter of a million Irish men and women went to serve in the wars and that 40,000 of them died: “In their final resting place they are entitled to our respect.”