President attends service to honour war dead

The President, Mrs McAleese, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, led the annual National Day of Commemoration ceremony in Dublin yesterday to honour Irish people who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations.

During the inter-denominational service at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the President laid a wreath in honour of the fallen Irish men and women. This was followed by a minute's silence.

Also present at the ceremony were members of the Government, the Council of State and the diplomatic corps; TDs and senators; representatives of the Christian churches, as well as the Muslim and Jewish faiths; Northern Ireland representatives; and relatives of the 1916 leaders and of those who died in service with the UN.

Among those attending the ceremony and service were members of the Government, including the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith; the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell; the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey; the Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern; the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen; the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue; and the Government Chief Whip, Ms Hanafin.

Also present were members of the Opposition parties, the judiciary and the new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Dermot Lacey.

The memorial service was first introduced in 1986, when the ceremony was held in the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square. Subsequently, it was moved to the quadrangle of the Royal Hospital.

Concelebrants in the one-hour service of prayer were the Chief Rabbi, Very Reverend Dr Yaakov Pearlman; the Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Most Reverend Jim Moriarty; the Reverend Samuel Anketell of the Presbyterian Church; the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Most Reverend Walton Empey; and the District Superintendent of the Methodist Church, the Reverend Dr Kenneth A. Wilson.

The Muslim community in Ireland did not participate in the service but was represented at the ceremony by the chairman of the board of the Islamic Cultural Centre, Mr Shaheen Ahmed.

The music at yesterday's ceremony was provided by the band of the First Southern Brigade and contralto Dr Bernadette Greevy.