The men from the greater Drogheda area who died in the 1914-18 war will be remembered on Saturday (Nov 7) at 11am when the Mayor of Drogheda Councillor Declan Power will lead the annual memorial gathering at the Cenotaph at Mary Street. The event will be followed by a historical seminar in the town at 1.30pm.
The Cenotaph was unveiled in November 1925 as part of a national campaign to remember the dead of that war. General Sir Bryan McMahon accompanied by Lord Fingal unveiled the monument in November 1925 and some 400 wreaths were placed around it. The annual ceremony takes place every November with the exception that it was suspended during the Northern troubles. In 1999 the then Mayor revived the event and it is now on the Mayor’s annual calendar of events. The monument records the names of upwards of three hundred and seventy two from the town and its surrounds.
Local historian, the late Jim Garry, first transcribed the names on it and published them kin the Journal of the Old Drogheda Society |No 4 in 1983, When the monument was being planned a local committee headed by then Mayor Luke Elcock invited families who had loved ones in the war to submit their names for inclusion. The Slane poet Francis Ledwidge is listed along with Frank Smith M.M from the Dale, Drogheda alongside other well-known local names: Gradwell, Cairnes Matthews, Byrne, Clarke, Govers.
The Slane poet Francis Ledwidge among those that died in The Great War will also be remembered at the event next Saturday, 7th November.
Researcher and historian Dr Donal Hall who studied the contests of the monument pointed out that eighteen of the names on the memorial have no further information available on their origins or connections with the town or families in it. The organisers of Saturday’s events say that this now provides an opportunity to appeal to readers to ascertain if anyone can identify connected families. A public seminar with free admission and hosted by Drogheda Civic Trust and Louth County Council will take place at St Peter’s Church of Ireland
Conference Centre at 1.30pm following the ceremony.
The seminar programme is as follows – Welcome by the Mayor at 1.45pm; Drummer William Kenny V.C, Freeman of Drogheda presented by Sean Collins M.A (Drogheda Civic Trust) at 2.45; 3.30 coffee break; 3.45 Women in Ireland and the Great War presented by Dr Fionnuala Walsh; 4.15pm Under what Flag, Co Louth and 1914 presented by Dr Donal Hall (along with contributions exploring local experiences and the impact of the war on the region.
