The memory of 200 East Cork men killed in the First World War will be kept alive by a memorial wall in Midleton.

This month we start the first of our regular, readers’ questions column with expert, Fiann Ó Nualláin.

In ‘Breakdown’ Taylor Downing attempts to unpack the obfuscation surrounding the syndrome named shellshock in 1916 and post-traumatic stress disorder in 2016. 

There is next to no environmental law that did not originate in the European Union, writes Victoria White

“The heroic dead of Ireland have every right to the homage of the living.”

Frank McGuinness sees redemption for a province in the context of union with the rest of Ireland, writes Victoria White

A defiant Françoise Hollande has called on French citizens and Europe to stand together in the wake of terrorist attacks to protect freedom, as he thanked Ireland for its solidarity, writes Juno McEnroe. 

IRELAND’S National Day of Commemoration was held across the country yesterday to honour Irish military personnel who gave their lives in historic wars or on peacekeeping duties with the United Nations.

Political leaders and military veterans are due to gather in Dublin tomorrow to commemorate the Battle of the Somme.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

EVEN if it was just some sad, drunken gobdaw who threw the wreaths placed on Cork’s First World War memorial earlier this week to mark the July 1 opening of the Battle of the Somme and to remember the estimated 4,000 Corkmen who died in that war into the Lee it was a dispicable, uncomprehending act of ignorance and vandalism.

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One week after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, British prime minister David Cameron and members of the royal family were standing side-by-side with France’s president to celebrate their historic alliance at the centenary of the deadliest battle of World War I.

One hundred years ago in the poppy fields of Northern France, July 1, 1916, saw the single most hellish day of armed conflict, with the start of the Battle of the Somme.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

The centenary of the Battle of the Somme recalls the futility of war, writes Ryle Dwyer

French President François Hollande is to visit Ireland later this month, it emerged yesterday.

AT precisely 7.25am today a salvo of artillery fire from three First World War guns resounded in London’s Parliament Square.

If you need further proof that learning can be fun, then look no further than Sunday’s Well Boys National School who have brought us another moment in history using lego.

From the Easter Rising in Dublin to the slaughter and carnage of the Battle of the Somme, 1916 was a fateful year in the minds and lives of Irish country house owners.

Soldiers in Irish units of the British Army called on to quash the fighting at the GPO,

I have read the Cork Examiner in many formats and identities and in many worldwide locations since I was a child having my Corn Flakes before cycling to school in Ballintotis in County Cork in the 80s.

1916 letter provides a link to only Cork man killed in the Rising, writes Niall Murray

The violent events of Verdun, the Battle of the Somme and the Easter Rising, will be remembered in 2016, writes Richard Collins

Loyalist communities across Belfast will be invited to engage in a range of events to commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising, republican organisers have pledged.

A BOY scout once, I would have been on Church Parade yesterday. 

THE American-born Emmet Dalton had such a fascinating career that it is surprising it has taken so long for a proper biography to be written.

We are in a national debate premised on the view that nature is like a bucket of coal to be burnt. Water is not a resource, a utility to be used — much less a so-called human ‘right’.

IN A media-obsessing today about a government reshuffle, it is worth remembering that policy not personality matters most. There are exceptions. Some personalities are so strong that for good or bad they become the policy issue.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will join British prime minister on a visit to a First World War memorial in Belgium next month.

ARDMORE Studios, which opened its doors as Ireland’s first film studio in May 1958, remains the physical heart of the Irish film industry. Having played host to more than 100 films, the original studios, situated on a 10-acre site, represented an investment of over £500m at the time.

British royals, politicians and Unionist leaders will be invited to Dublin to remember those who fought for Irish freedom.

HOW do you know you’re getting old? When you break into a sprint, without giving three weeks’ notice to your body? Is it the sight of the first few grey hairs in the mirror that look so ludicrous, you think “Aw COME ON, special effects in this movie are cat!”.

Talks are taking place between the Irish and British governments to hold joint commemorations in 2014 to mark the anniversary of the start of the First Wold War.