Saturday, June 28, 2014

Upcoming Great War commemoration events

Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group will hold an informal ‘memory’ night for the whole community on Thursday 17 July at 8pm in the Community Library, writes Julie O'Donoghue.

Everyone who is interested in this part of our history or in Kilcullen and district’s contribution to the war effort are warmly welcomed to attend. Those who have stories, letters, photos, medals etc which they would like to share are especially welcome.

On the night there will be two people there who have particular expertise in this era of Irish history and who will help put our personal stories into context. There will also be information available on how to research the period and how to find out about family members who may have participated in the war.

On Saturday 23 August there will be a commemorative event in the Heritage Centre starting at 7pm with a display of WW1 memorabilia and weapons generously provided by the Irish Military Vehicles Group.

The evening will consist of music and songs of the period performed by local artistes, poetry and stories from our Writers Group, and a short play set in the trenches by award winning Kilcullen writer John Martin.

It promises to be a superb evening of entertainment in our unique Kilcullen tradition. No booking necessary but get there early to check out the military artefacts.

These events are free, generously supported by Kildare County Council with additional assistance by Kildare Library and Arts Service.

ED NOTE: The illustration above is the original design by local artist Kieran Behan for the commemorative banner which will be placed shortly in Kilcullen.