Forgotten lesson from front line of history

YET again Europe was in the throes of war. Volunteers from every street and parish in Ireland died in their thousands.

Families and neighbours gathered together to read letters from the front line. Poems and songs were composed and sung at weddings and dances, at public houses and fairs.

People saw the war as a great common struggle against tyranny in which the destiny of their country was at stake. There are few people in Ireland today whose families were not touched by tragedy.