01/07/2016 BBC Newsline


01/07/2016

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A special service has been held in France to remember the men

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from across Ireland who died at the Somme.

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More than a million men were killed or injured over

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the course of five months - thousands of them from here.

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Today's service at the Ulster Tower at Thiepval reflected

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the scale of the tragedy - but also captured the individual

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A generation wiped out and barely a town or village

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The Battle of the Somme ceremony for the 36th Ulster Division began

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with the presentation of regimental colours

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Several thousand people from Northern Ireland made the trip

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The day had begun much earlier in nearby Thiepval Wood where

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whistles were blowing just as they were 100 years

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ago at the precise time the Ulstermen went over the top.

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Conor McCracken's great uncle was one of them.

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I just think about what it must have felt like for him going over the top

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and knowing that his brother has been killed in there before.

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Amongst the VIPs, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall

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who were warmly applauded by the crowds as the arrived

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During the service, poignant letters written by soldiers

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The 16th Irish Division as well as the 36th Ulster Division,

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I still think if we had those men beside us that day,

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It was a day of remembrance and reflection.

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I have met people who had great grandfathers and great uncles

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Some of their bodies were never found and some of them

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It is very interesting today because 100 years ago,

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people have started to talk about their own families

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I've been to a fewthe graveyards and there were lads who were 15, 16.

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I've been here the last number of years because this day is different.

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The number of people from Northern Ireland in the UK

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and the number of people who are prepared 100

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years on to give up time to pay their respects.

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It is very hard to know in terms of common humanity and ability

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It just brings it home to what our forefathers have done for us.

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Not just one part of the country but for the other

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They fought for the freedom we have today.

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There are no longer any Battle of the Somme veterans left

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Now it is about honouring the memory of what happened in these fields,

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The First Minister Arlene Foster was among those who laid a wreath

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She said it was a very moving occasion.

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It means so much to so many people in Northern Ireland. That is why it

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was so important to me to be here today, not just at Thiepval but also

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the Ulster Tower which encompasses all the memories for the 36th Ulster

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division. I found the service is very moving and emotional and I am

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proud to have been part of them. For the first time,

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a Catholic Archbishop attended Archbishop Eamon Martin said

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he had decided to come to promote a message of peace,

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healing and reconciliation. It is part of our shared history. I

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think it is sad that down through the decades, registries have moved

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apart and we have begun to tell separate narratives about what took

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place here and yet the stories I hear are that Protestants and

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Catholics stood side-by-side, fought side-by-side for freedom and for

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peace. I really hope we have taken a small step forward to recovering the

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complexity of the narrative and the fact that we do have something very

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much in common when we think back to the bravery of those men.

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Back at home, several events have taken place to mark

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In Carrickfergus tonight, 4000 people attended

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A military parade entered the grounds of the town's castle

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at 7:28pm, 12 hours after Irish troops went over the top

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A musical tribute was led by soloist Aled Jones.

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Earlier today wreaths were laid in Belfast and Dublin to remember

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all of the Irish men who died in the battle.

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It was an emotional day for the relatives of those who,

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from all walks of life, didn't make it home from the war.

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At Belfast City Hall, people gathered for a wreath laying

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ceremony remembering the men from both the 36th Ulster Division

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and the 16th Irish Division who lost their lives at the Somme.

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Among those paying tribute was the Lord Mayor Brian Kingston

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and the Irish government minister Leo Varadkar.

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Elsewhere in Belfast, people in Tower Street

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organised a cross community and Somme street festival.

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Local residents researched six soldiers that were on the wall

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I think it's good for this committee.

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During times of the committee, they put their heart

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At Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, soldiers from the 38th

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Irish Brigade mustered at the Thiepval Memorial

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for an ecumenical commemoration service.

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In the Republic, a commemoration was held at Irish National War

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Memorial Gardens in Island Bridge, involving the Irish Defence Forces

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At the commemoration in Enniskillen Castle,

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a bugle used at the Somme was played to recreate the start of the battle.

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The bugle belonged to drummer Jack Downes from Londonderry

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and it was played again today exactly 100 years on.

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It is the one artefact within our collection that can speak. Medals

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and photographs and letters are very poignant but this is the exact sound

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that relative would have heard 100 years ago.

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Some other news now, and a man in his 50s has died

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He was shot up to four times by a gunman outside a shop off

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Thomas Street in Dublin's inner city this afternoon.

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He has been named locally as 53-year-old David

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Gardai say he had a number of previous criminal convictions,

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but the shooting is not connected to the Hutch Kinahan feud.

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A man has died after a car crash in County Armagh.

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The incident involving one car happened at the Stonebridge

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roundabout on the Portadown Road in Richhill this afternoon.

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Paint has been thrown at two orange halls in Banbridge

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in what the police say was a sectarian hate attack.

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Republican graffiti was also daubed on the walls of Tanvally and Corbet

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The Orange Order says 12 of its properties have

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Now finally onto the weekend weather forecast, and here's Geoff Maskell.

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