Southside marks centenary of Great War

A MAJOR new exhibition has been launched on the Southside to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I.

The cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Cllr Marie Baker, recently marked the start of the council’s sixth Summer of Heritage Programme by opening the

‘DLR and the Great War’ exhibition.

Produced by the council’s Heritage Office and the author of

‘Out of the Dark’, Ken Kinsella, the launch took place two days before the centenary of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, the event that led to the outbreak of the Great War.

Cllr Baker said the 1914-1918 conflict was a subject that has been to the background of Irish life despite the large-scale involvement of people from Ireland.

“Shortly after the war ended the political landscape of the country changed and those hundreds of thousands who fought in British uniforms were suddenly cast on the wrong side,

? she said.

“In recent years, particularly with Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the war memorial gardens and the centenary of the outbreak of the war, it has come to the fore.

?

Also speaking at the launch were RTE’s Myles Dungan, who highlighted the growing interest in the Great War and author Ken Kinsella, who spent 13 years detailing the lives of the war dead from the Southside.

The Dún Laoghaire Rathdown area is intimately associated with one of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind.

The Great War, while it has not loomed large in the consciousness of many people in Ireland since independence, was one of the key events that shaped the modern world.

Many of the stories in the exhibition are harrowing and manage to convey the brutality and futility of the mass killings.

In addition to the exhibition and the book there will be a concert of Great War songs on July 16 and an afternoon of talks on July 26 that will feature Myles Dungan.

For information on all the council’s Summer of Heritage events, see www.dlrevents.ie

Ken Kinsella’s Out of the Dark 1914-1918 was published to examine the huge contribution and sacrifice made by Southsiders during the conflict – against a backdrop of an increasingly volatile and uncertain political climate at home in Ireland.

Over 13 years in preparation, research and writing, the book is an important addition to the growing scholarship and acknowledgement of this aspect of local and Irish national history.

This fascinating and poig­nant history highlights the terrible losses inflicted due to Ireland’s involvement in the war, and the grief and pride of the Southside families they left behind.

The book, which includes numerous period images and illustrations, is available in paperback (and limited edition hardback) in bookshops from www.IAP.ie

Meanwhile, The World War 1 Roadshow will be hosted by Trinity College Dublin in partnership with RTÃ? Radio 1 and the National Library of Ireland on Saturday, July 12.

Ireland’s part in the war will be explored with a series of events taking place throughout the Trinity campus.

One of its main events, the Family History Collections Day of World War 1 memorabilia invites members of the public to bring in family items, letters and mementos related to the war for digitisation and archiving by a team of experts.

The World War 1 Roadshow will also feature a series of pop up talks and lectures on the Great War, and Trinity College Dublin’s own unique history during this period.

There will be a range of other activities including history tours of the campus related to the Great War and the

‘Last Cricket Match of Peace’. The day will conclude with the final Bugle call of the

‘Last Post’.