Micheal Martin attends Remembrance Sunday event in Enniskillen

Sunday, 14 November 2021 13:17

By PA news & Q Radio

The country has fallen silent to pay tribute to the war dead on Remembrance Sunday,

First Minister Paul Givan laid a wreath at the Cenotaph at the City Hall in Belfast while the Taoiseach Micheál Martin took part in commemorations in Enniskillen.

Mr. Martin continued a tradition begun by former Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 2012 by attending the commemorative event in the Co Fermanagh town.

Mr Martin laid a laurel wreath at the war memorial on a foggy Sunday morning before standing in silence to pay his respects.

The Taoiseach Micheal Martin lays a wreath at the cenotaph in Enniskillen. pic.twitter.com/UR413vEQ2f
— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) November 14, 2021

He was joined by Northern Ireland Education Minister Michelle McIlveen.

Former Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster, a native of Enniskillen, attended the event in a private capacity.

Stormont Education minister Michelle McIlveen lays a Remembrance Sunday wreath at the cenotaph in Enniskillen. pic.twitter.com/W99HF3xzSp
— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) November 14, 2021

She stood alongside relatives of those killed in the Poppy Day massacre of 1987, at the Clinton Centre, the location where the bomb that killed 12 people went off.

Conservative MP and Northern Ireland Minister of State, Conor Burns, was also in attendance.

Wreaths were laid by dignitaries from the British Army, the emergency services and representatives from US and Polish consuls.

Hundreds of people turned out to mark the occasion on Sunday, after numbers were restricted last year due to the pandemic.

They observed a solemn two minutes’ silence.

The event took place 34 years on from the IRA’s infamous “Poppy Day” bomb attack at the Enniskillen war memorial.

Eleven people who had gathered to pay respects to the war dead were killed and dozens more were injured in the no-warning blast in 1987 just minutes before the event was due to start. A 12th victim of the bombing died 13 years later having never woken from a coma.

Mr Kenny became the first Taoiseach to attend a Remembrance Day service in Northern Ireland when he took part in commemorations at Enniskillen in 2012.

That move was symbolic of the greater recognition now afforded in the Republic of Ireland to those Irishmen who fought and died serving in the British Army in the First World War.

Lord Mayor Kate Nicholl laid a wreath at the cenotaph in the Garden of Remembrance at City Hall along with Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan. Pic: Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk

The band of the Royal Irish Regiment at Belfast City Hall. Pic: Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk

In a separate ceremony in Belfast, Lord Mayor Kate Nicholl laid a wreath at the cenotaph in the Garden of Remembrance at City Hall.

Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan was also in attendance.

Remembrance Sunday at the cenotaph at City Hall in Belfast where First Minister Paul Givan laid a wreath in memory of all those who gave their lives in two world wars and other conflicts since. pic.twitter.com/zovztqw2hA
— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) November 14, 2021

It came as Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth was unable to attend the event in London, having sprained her back.

In a statement, the palace said it was with “great regret” the Queen would be unable to attend the service.

The statement said: “The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.

“As in previous years, a wreath will be laid on Her Majesty’s behalf by The Prince of Wales.”