"They were remembered."
Those three words from John Martin concluded the main part of last evening's 'Memories Night' organised by the Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group,
writes Brian Byrne. He spoke them following a minute's silence after a roll call of the names of the 34 men from the Kilcullen area who went to fight in the 1914-18 War and never came home.
That roll call was read out by Iseult O'Donoghue, the organiser of the evening, the latest in a number of events undertaken by the Group for this commemorative year of the start of WW1. More than 60 people attended, from Kilcullen, Athy, Sallins and further, for an event that was fascinating and poignant in equal measure. The attendance included a number of family members of men who had gone to war a hundred years ago, some of whom returned, others who didn't.
Guest speaker Frank Taaffe from Athy provided a social background to the South Kildare locality in the period preceding and during the War, noting that the extreme poverty being endured by the population was part of why the percentage of Irishmen's involvement in the conflict was higher than in England, taken against the respective populations. He also detailed how political changes here while the men were at the front, and the post-war rise of Republican sentiment, resulted in a shunning of many of those who came back by their communities and even their families. He commended journalist Kevin Myers for his long-time campaign to have the Irish soldiers who served in WW1 properly commemorated.
During the evening, a number of people told their own family stories relating to the war, and showed memorabilia which included medals, military service records, photographs, and examples of the kit and equipment provided to the soldiers before they went to fight. The context and background to many of these items was explained by Seamus Taafe, Frank Taaffe's son.
The evening also provided the first opportunity for people to see the commemorative banner commissioned by the Commemoration Group, designed by local artist Kieran Behan. It will be mounted in a prominent area of the town later this week. The soldier second from the left on the upper row is Julie O'Donoghue's great-uncle
Joseph Keating.
The reading of the roll call is available
here. The unedited audio recording of the complete event is
here. All the pictures from the evening are
here.
The activities of the Kilcullen Great War Commemoration Group are supported by a heritage grant from Kildare County Council.
