:00:14. > :00:18.A special service has been held in France to remember the men
:00:19. > :00:20.from across Ireland who died at the Somme.
:00:21. > :00:23.More than a million men were killed or injured over
:00:24. > :00:26.the course of five months - thousands of them from here.
:00:27. > :00:29.Today's service at the Ulster Tower at Thiepval reflected
:00:30. > :00:32.the scale of the tragedy - but also captured the individual
:00:33. > :00:37.A generation wiped out and barely a town or village
:00:38. > :00:48.The Battle of the Somme ceremony for the 36th Ulster Division began
:00:49. > :00:53.with the presentation of regimental colours
:00:54. > :00:56.Several thousand people from Northern Ireland made the trip
:00:57. > :01:04.The day had begun much earlier in nearby Thiepval Wood where
:01:05. > :01:06.whistles were blowing just as they were 100 years
:01:07. > :01:09.ago at the precise time the Ulstermen went over the top.
:01:10. > :01:14.Conor McCracken's great uncle was one of them.
:01:15. > :01:18.I just think about what it must have felt like for him going over the top
:01:19. > :01:21.and knowing that his brother has been killed in there before.
:01:22. > :01:24.Amongst the VIPs, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall
:01:25. > :01:27.who were warmly applauded by the crowds as the arrived
:01:28. > :01:42.During the service, poignant letters written by soldiers
:01:43. > :01:47.The 16th Irish Division as well as the 36th Ulster Division,
:01:48. > :01:52.I still think if we had those men beside us that day,
:01:53. > :01:56.It was a day of remembrance and reflection.
:01:57. > :02:04.I have met people who had great grandfathers and great uncles
:02:05. > :02:13.Some of their bodies were never found and some of them
:02:14. > :02:16.It is very interesting today because 100 years ago,
:02:17. > :02:18.people have started to talk about their own families
:02:19. > :02:39.I've been to a fewthe graveyards and there were lads who were 15, 16.
:02:40. > :02:44.I've been here the last number of years because this day is different.
:02:45. > :02:46.The number of people from Northern Ireland in the UK
:02:47. > :02:48.and the number of people who are prepared 100
:02:49. > :02:51.years on to give up time to pay their respects.
:02:52. > :02:54.It is very hard to know in terms of common humanity and ability
:02:55. > :02:58.It just brings it home to what our forefathers have done for us.
:02:59. > :03:01.Not just one part of the country but for the other
:03:02. > :03:23.They fought for the freedom we have today.
:03:24. > :03:26.There are no longer any Battle of the Somme veterans left
:03:27. > :03:30.Now it is about honouring the memory of what happened in these fields,
:03:31. > :03:34.The First Minister Arlene Foster was among those who laid a wreath
:03:35. > :03:41.She said it was a very moving occasion.
:03:42. > :03:49.It means so much to so many people in Northern Ireland. That is why it
:03:50. > :03:54.was so important to me to be here today, not just at Thiepval but also
:03:55. > :03:59.the Ulster Tower which encompasses all the memories for the 36th Ulster
:04:00. > :04:01.division. I found the service is very moving and emotional and I am
:04:02. > :04:02.proud to have been part of them. For the first time,
:04:03. > :04:04.a Catholic Archbishop attended Archbishop Eamon Martin said
:04:05. > :04:07.he had decided to come to promote a message of peace,
:04:08. > :04:19.healing and reconciliation. It is part of our shared history. I
:04:20. > :04:23.think it is sad that down through the decades, registries have moved
:04:24. > :04:30.apart and we have begun to tell separate narratives about what took
:04:31. > :04:33.place here and yet the stories I hear are that Protestants and
:04:34. > :04:42.Catholics stood side-by-side, fought side-by-side for freedom and for
:04:43. > :04:45.peace. I really hope we have taken a small step forward to recovering the
:04:46. > :04:50.complexity of the narrative and the fact that we do have something very
:04:51. > :04:52.much in common when we think back to the bravery of those men.
:04:53. > :04:54.Back at home, several events have taken place to mark
:04:55. > :04:57.In Carrickfergus tonight, 4000 people attended
:04:58. > :05:01.A military parade entered the grounds of the town's castle
:05:02. > :05:03.at 7:28pm, 12 hours after Irish troops went over the top
:05:04. > :05:12.A musical tribute was led by soloist Aled Jones.
:05:13. > :05:17.Earlier today wreaths were laid in Belfast and Dublin to remember
:05:18. > :05:19.all of the Irish men who died in the battle.
:05:20. > :05:22.It was an emotional day for the relatives of those who,
:05:23. > :05:25.from all walks of life, didn't make it home from the war.
:05:26. > :05:31.At Belfast City Hall, people gathered for a wreath laying
:05:32. > :05:34.ceremony remembering the men from both the 36th Ulster Division
:05:35. > :05:40.and the 16th Irish Division who lost their lives at the Somme.
:05:41. > :05:43.Among those paying tribute was the Lord Mayor Brian Kingston
:05:44. > :05:55.and the Irish government minister Leo Varadkar.
:05:56. > :05:57.Elsewhere in Belfast, people in Tower Street
:05:58. > :06:03.organised a cross community and Somme street festival.
:06:04. > :06:05.Local residents researched six soldiers that were on the wall
:06:06. > :06:20.I think it's good for this committee.
:06:21. > :06:23.During times of the committee, they put their heart
:06:24. > :06:26.At Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, soldiers from the 38th
:06:27. > :06:28.Irish Brigade mustered at the Thiepval Memorial
:06:29. > :06:35.for an ecumenical commemoration service.
:06:36. > :06:38.In the Republic, a commemoration was held at Irish National War
:06:39. > :06:40.Memorial Gardens in Island Bridge, involving the Irish Defence Forces
:06:41. > :06:53.At the commemoration in Enniskillen Castle,
:06:54. > :07:01.a bugle used at the Somme was played to recreate the start of the battle.
:07:02. > :07:10.The bugle belonged to drummer Jack Downes from Londonderry
:07:11. > :07:16.and it was played again today exactly 100 years on.
:07:17. > :07:22.It is the one artefact within our collection that can speak. Medals
:07:23. > :07:27.and photographs and letters are very poignant but this is the exact sound
:07:28. > :07:29.that relative would have heard 100 years ago.
:07:30. > :07:32.Some other news now, and a man in his 50s has died
:07:33. > :07:37.He was shot up to four times by a gunman outside a shop off
:07:38. > :07:39.Thomas Street in Dublin's inner city this afternoon.
:07:40. > :07:41.He has been named locally as 53-year-old David
:07:42. > :07:47.Gardai say he had a number of previous criminal convictions,
:07:48. > :07:53.but the shooting is not connected to the Hutch Kinahan feud.
:07:54. > :07:57.A man has died after a car crash in County Armagh.
:07:58. > :08:04.The incident involving one car happened at the Stonebridge
:08:05. > :08:06.roundabout on the Portadown Road in Richhill this afternoon.
:08:07. > :08:10.Paint has been thrown at two orange halls in Banbridge
:08:11. > :08:13.in what the police say was a sectarian hate attack.
:08:14. > :08:17.Republican graffiti was also daubed on the walls of Tanvally and Corbet
:08:18. > :08:25.The Orange Order says 12 of its properties have
:08:26. > :08:31.Now finally onto the weekend weather forecast, and here's Geoff Maskell.