Day of Commemoration - A time to mark war’s futility

To mark the National Day of Commemoration yesterday, President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern participated in the ceremony at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham in memory of all Irishmen and women who died in wars or on service with the UN.

Representatives from the churches — the Catholic, Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian churches — were represented at the multi-faith commemoration, which was televised live.

Those who sacrificed so much should be remembered not as some kind of glorification of conflict but as a reminder of the futility of war.

Yesterday also marked the celebration of 50 years of European unity, which was conceived largely in recognition of the need to stop the succession of wars that had plagued Europe, especially the two world wars that caused so much carnage on the Continent.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern noted that Ireland has benefited greatly from membership since joining the European Economic Community in 1973.

The European structural and cohesions funds boosted economic confidence here in the seminal period leading to the birth of the Celtic Tiger.

A feature of yesterday’s celebration at the Farmleigh estate in Phoenix Park was the EU Village, which offered the public a chance to sample a variety of cultural and culinary experiences from the different EU states.

It is important to remember the sacrifices made in times of division and to celebrate the fruits of developing unity.