McAleese pays tribute to Irish Gallipoli dead

President Mary McAleese today paid tribute to thousands of Irish soldiers killed at the battle of Gallipoli while they fought for the British Army.

The president’s visit to a memorial site during a state trip to Turkey was the first official recognition of the huge loss of Irish lives in the First World War.

It is estimated nearly 4,000 Irish troops died in the 1915 Gallipoli campaign.

Ms McAleese told a commemoration at Green Hill cemetery, where many Irish soldiers’ remains lie, that each one killed in the battle deserves respect and remembrance.

“The distance of time and historical perspective can allow us to question the folly of that war and the appalling waste of countless wonderful, courageous young men on both sides,” said Ms McAleese.

“The Irish who fought for the British Empire here were not only destined to be overwhelmed by those who opposed them but to have their memory doubly overwhelmed, for they fought in a campaign that was lost and so long overlooked, and back home fellow citizens were taking on the might of that same empire to secure Irish independence.

“Those fortunate enough few who returned alive from Gallipoli returned to considerable ambivalence, even hostility about their role and their sacrifice.”

Tens of thousands of soldiers were killed in the six-month battle at Gallipoli during a failed attempt by Allies to secure the approaches to Istanbul and the Black Sea.

The fallen troops were from Britain, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

Ms McAleese said distance of time and changing historical context now allowed us to make up for a deficit of remembrance in the past.

“We come today to honour our Irish dead, those who fought in British uniforms, those who fought in Anzac uniforms and to honour those whom they fought, the young Turkish men who defended their homeland,” she continued.

“Each one deserves our prayers, respect and remembrance.

“Within the hallowed boundaries of this cemetery they now rest, each individual story a challenge to the world’s citizens to find ways other than war to resolve our problems.”