A Remembrance ceremony at the Glasnevin Cemetery will take place on Bastille Day, July 14, honoring the people of Ireland who served in France and French Professor, Édouard Cadic, from the National University in Ireland, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
To mark the occasion of France’s national day, Bastille Day, the Ambassador of France to Ireland, Vincent Guérend, will host a wreath-laying ceremony at the Glasnevin cemetery in honor of the people of Ireland who served in France during the War of 1870, the First and Second World Wars.
Wreaths will be laid first at the France-Irish monument, which was erected in 2016 by H.E. Vincent Guérend and Colonel Nicolas Filser. The event will take place at 11am, on July 14, at Glasnevin Cemetery, in Dublin.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Ambassador Vincent Guérend declared “We pay tribute to all the Irish soldiers who fought on French soil, many of whom never returned during the great wars. France wishes to express its gratitude to these brave people who did not hesitate to enlist for freedom”.
Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Darcy Lonergan commented: “Since 2016 the France Ireland Memorial allows us to highlight the courage of so many Irish soldiers who fought in France to give us a freer and more united world to face adversity.”
The France Ireland Memorial
The whole artwork is built as a mix of symbols of remembrance and of the two cultures brought together in a common area. It pays tribute to the contribution of Irish men and women to the defense and freedom of France.
The Celtic cross is a replica of the Ginchy cross which pays tribute to the 4,354 Irishmen of the 16th Division who bravely fought and died in the Battle of the Somme and, by extension, it commemorates all the Irish from around the world who fought in the Allied Armies. As another reference to the Celtic culture, the cross surmounting the monument follows the axis of the sun from east to west. On the day of the solstice, the cross will therefore be illuminated all day long.
This Memorial erected one hundred years after the First World War in Glasnevin Cemetery, the final resting place of many of those Veterans who fought in France, represents a living testimony of the everlasting friendship between the people of France and the people of Ireland, honoring to the sacrifice and commitment of the Irish people.
Professor Édouard Cadic
Homage was also paid to Professor Édouard Cadic in front of his grave, where a wreath will be laid. Prof. Édouard Cadic was a Professor of French and Romance Philology at the National University in Ireland.
He was born in Guidel, Brittany in 1858 and was a well-known French language scholar who was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur in 1900. Amongst his pupils were famous Irish figures such as Patrick Pearse and James Joyce whom he influenced.
He was also involved in humanitarian fundraising for France in Ireland following the great flood of Paris in 1910. His story is indicative of the positive influence and legacy of French people who settled in Ireland and made it their home.
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