Longford’s event to commemorate end of Civil War rescheduled

Public ceremony to go ahead in Garden of Remembrance on Wednesday, 14 June

Longford County Council will commemorate the centenary of the end of the Civil War on Wednesday next, 14 June with a public ceremony at 2.30pm in the Remembrance Garden on Great Water Street in Longford.

The event, which was rescheduled from its original date of 24 May, commemorates the end of the Civil War on 24 May 1923. It was on that date that the Anti-Treaty forces ceased their activities.

The conflict had lasted for almost a year. It developed out of the split that followed the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. Sadly, many of those who had fought together during the War of Independence were on opposite sides in the Civil War and in many cases, there was lasting bitterness.

The ceremony will include an ecumenical prayer service and the participation of members of the Peter Keenan Branch of the Organisation of National Ex-service Personnel. It will also involve students who have been working on two projects. One, aimed at Transition Year classes, is entitled ‘The Changing Life of a Teenager since Independence’. The other, which is taking place in Cnoc Mhuire, Granard, is a collaborative poem entitled ‘I am the National Flag.’

The ceremony will also see the planting of a tree by Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council Cllr Turlough McGovern and the planting of bulbs by the other elected members.

Speaking about the event, Cllr McGovern is in no doubt about its importance, “The Civil War was a very sad part of our history, and it left many people bereaved and hurt. One hundred years on, we should remember it, and the local people who lost their lives as a result”.

Longford County Council Chief Executive, Paddy Mahon welcomed all to participate and emphasised the importance of these events to our younger generations. “Involving young people in these ceremonies is an important way to help them understand the past and it also provides a valuable opportunity for them to form their own perspectives on our history”, he reflected.

The ceremony takes place at 2.30pm in Longford’s Garden of Remembrance on Great Water Street.