Island of Ireland Peace Park

Infobox Military Memorial
name=Island of Ireland Peace Park
country=Ireland


caption=The Peace Park's symbolic Irish Round Tower.
commemorates=the soldiers of the island of Ireland who died, were wounded or are missing from World War I
unveiled=11 November 1998
coordinates=coord|50|46|N|2|53|E|
nearest_town=Mesen, West Flanders, Belgium
designer=Traditional Irish round tower
inscription=The Island of Ireland Peace Park and its surrounding park ( _ga. Páirc Síochána d'Oileán na h'Éireann), also called the Irish Peace Park or Irish Peace Tower in Messines, near Ypres in Flanders, Belgium, is a war memorial to the soldiers of the island of Ireland who died, were wounded or are missing from World War I.

The tower memorial is close to the site of the June 1917 battle for the Messines Ridge and was chosen because that battle witnessed one of the few where Irish Catholics and Protestants, soldiers of all traditions from the Island of Ireland fought side by side against a common enemy. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/212208.stm BBC News] 11 November 1998]

Development

Because of the events of the Easter Rebellion in 1916 and the partition of Ireland under the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922 and the Irish Civil War that followed it, little was done outside of Ireland to commemorate the fallen of the Great War from what became the Republic of Ireland, by the Irish or the British governments. Those countries who were engaged in the Great War all preserve the memory of their fallen soldiers with national monuments in the Western Front area. This led to some ill-feeling in the already crowded emotions of the conflict on the island, and perhaps was highlighted when Northern Ireland's community's Ulster Tower at Thiepval on the Somme in France was one of the first memorials erected. [ [http://www.webmatters.net/monuments/ww1_irish_mesen_1.htm Webmatters.net] undated]

This Tower memorial, however, serves not to "redress the balance" but rather to recall the sacrifices of those from the island of Ireland from all political and religious traditions who fought and died in the war. It also serves as a symbol of modern-day reconciliation. The Tower houses bronze cubicles containing record books listing the known dead, which are publicly accessible copies of the originals belonging to the National War Memorial in Dublin.

The project was initiated by "A Journey of Reconciliation Trust", a broad-based cross-border Irish organisation which hopes to bring together people of diverse beliefs. The Trust comprises representatives of the main churches in Ireland and professional political and representatives and community leaders from both parts of Ireland under the leadership of Paddy Harte and Glen Barr. [http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/Press_Releases/19981020/160.htm Republic of Ireland Department for Foreign Affairs] 20 October 1998] .

The building of the tower was marked by controversies over who would pay what towards the costs of construction. [ [http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dccfarr/ipt.htm Ypres and the Great War by Simon Farr] ] Construction costs were finally met by contributions from the British and Irish governments and from commercial sponsors [http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/Press_Releases/19981020/160.htm Republic of Ireland Department for Foreign Affairs] 20 October 1998] but some problems with drainage, tree growth and surfacing in the park around the tower existed for the first few years. The park was subsequently restructured to its present design under the auspices of the Dublin City Council in 2004.

Design

The 110-foot tower [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3593/is_199812/ai_n8540352 World of Hibernia] December 1998, quoted in Find Articles] is in the traditional design of an Irish Round Tower and is partially built with stone from a former British Army barracks in Tipperary, the remainder of the stone from a work-house outside Mullingar, County Westmeath.

The design has a unique aspect that allows the sun to only illuminate the interior on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the anniversary of the armistice that ended the war and the time for the minute's silence on Remembrance Day. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/212208.stm BBC News] 11 November 1998] .

A commemorative ceremony is held yearly in the Park on that date, in conjunction with similar ceremonies at the nearby multi-national Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.

Unveiling

The tower was unveiled after an 11am service on 11 November 1998 by President Mary McAleese of Ireland, HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms and King Albert II of Belgium.

In her speech, President McAleese said:

Speaking at the official re-opening of the newly structured Park on 7 June 2004, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern commented that honouring the spirit of all Irish people killed in the First World War can teach how to advance the Northern Ireland peace process, adding:

Peace Pledge

A bronze tablet inside the entrance of the park bears the following inscription, entitled Peace Pledge:

The park

The small park surrounding the tower contains thirteen smaller structures:
*Three pillars giving the killed, wounded and dead of each division:*10th (Irish) Division - 9,363:*16th (Irish) Division - 28,398:*36th (Ulster) Division - 32,186
*An upright tablet listing the counties of Ireland, the names running together to suggest the unity of death
*A bronze tablet depicting a plan of the battle area
*Nine stone tablets with prose, poems and letters from Irish servicemen

ee also

* Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Dublin, Ireland
* Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
* Ulster Tower Memorial Thiepval, France.

References

External links

* [http://www.bandonmemorial.com/ Homepage of the Bandon War Memorial Committee]
* [http://www.connaughtrangersassoc.com/ Homepage of the Connaught Ranger's Association]
* [http://www.royaldublinfusiliers.com/ Homepage of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association]
* [http://www.inniskilling.com/ Homepage of the Royal Innniskilling Fusiliers Association]
* [http://www.rmfa92.org/ Homepage of the Royal Munster Fusilier's Association]

* [http://www.webmatters.net/monuments/ww1_irish_mesen_1.htm World War One: Carte de Route: Guide of the Island of Ireland Peace Park]
* [http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/index.asp?docID=2517 Department of the Taoiseach - Irish Soldiers in the First World War]
* [http://www.irishsoldiers.com/ The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust]

Further reading

* Bryan Cooper (1918): "The 10th (Irish) Division in Gallipoli" Irish Academic Press (1993), (2003) ISBN 0-7165-2517-8.
* Cyril Falls: "History of the 36th (Ulster) Division." Constable & Robinson (1996) ISBN 0-09-476630-4.
* Desmond & Jean Bowen: "Heroic Option: The Irish in the British Army." Pen & Sword Books (2005) ISBN 1-84415-152-2.
* Keith Jeffery: "Ireland and the Great War" Cambridge University Press, (November 2000) ISBN 0-521-77323-7.
* Terence Denman: "Ireland's unknown Soldiers: The 16th (Irish) Division in the Great War" Irish Academic Press (1992), (2003) ISBN 0-7165-2495-3.
* Timothy Bowman: "Irish Regiments in the Great War" Manchester University Press (2003), ISBN 0-7190-6285-3.