A group from Kilkenny are in Ypres to remember those from the county who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The Kilkenny Great War Committee are in Ypres to remember those from the county who lost their lives at the Western Front.
This is a ceremony which would most likely not have taken place a generation ago, believes Donal Crohan from Kilkenny,
There seems to be an ability now to remember those men and women.
The town of Ypres in West Flanders was at the centre of many battles during World War I and was reduced to rubble. The number of Irish soldiers in the British Army was significant, says Pier Chielens from the Flanders Field Museum in Ypres.
They are here from the word go.
Battlefield historian Erwin Ureel became interested in the Irish involvement in Flanders when he came across the story of Major Willie Redmond. A Nationalist MP (Member of Parliament) for East Clare, who fought with B Company, 6th Battalion in the 47th Brigade of the 16th (Irish) Division and died during the Battle of Messines.
Erwin Ureel explains that there were so many Irish troops in this region during the war that at one stage the town of Bailleul across the border in France became almost a home from home.
The Irish adapted the name to Ballyhooley.
Approximately 2,500 Irish born troops died in this part of the Western Front during 1914 – 1918. One hundred years later,
Their sacrifice is finally being recognised and acknowledged.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 4 August 2014. The reporter is Bryan Dobson.
