President Higgins attends a centenary commemoration service at Anzac cove in Gallipoli.
The dawn service at Anzac Cove which commemorates the World War I landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey one hundred years ago is attended by approximately ten thousand Australians and New Zealanders.
Australian and New Zealand premiers addressed the ceremony, which is attended by President Michael D Higgins and Prince Charles, as well as dignitaries from many nations.
The Gallipoli campaign took place in northwest Turkey (at that time the Ottoman Empire) from April to December 1915 with the aim of capturing Constantinople (now Istanbul) and removing Ottoman Turkey from the war.
A disasterous event, the loss of human life was enormous, as an estimated 130,000 men died on the battlefield or from disease. The sacrifices of the Anzacs became a key moment in the narrative of Australia and New Zealand histories.
New Zealand prime minister John Key says much has happened to change the relationship between his own country and Turkey in the space of a century,
We’re much more like-minded than we would have ever believed.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 25 April 2015. The reporter is David Davin Power.
