Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is hosting a free event on Saturday 22 September in Lurgan Park at 2.00pm to commemorate the end of the Great War through music, poetry and dance. This closing ceremony, following a week of commemorative events arranged to coincide with Good Relations Week, brings to life the poignancy of the impact that war had on the local community in Northern Ireland.
Broadcaster Claire McCollum, whose great uncle was lost in World War I, will narrate the performance and will be joined on stage by musicians, poets and dancers who will perform a chronological account of the war through the eyes of people, mostly women, who were left here living, bringing up their families and working at home while the war was being fought across Europe by their fathers, husbands, brothers, sons and grandsons.
Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Julie Flaherty, said: “This conflict touched the lives of millions of people from across the country and indeed from across the world. An entire generation was defined by the war, on the battlefield and on the Home Front. This poignant arts event will remind us all of the great sacrifice made by local people and will help us reflect on a hugely significant time in our local and global history.”
Council’s Good Relations team, with music producer Mark Wilson, has enlisted help from local arts societies, the NI Historical Airsoft Society and members of the Bulgarian and Polish communities to produce a two hour reflective event which will entertain but also enable the audience to contemplate respectfully on the impact that the Great War had on their own families, friends, neighbours and wider community. It will tell the story of local people from throughout the Borough.
Tributes will be paid to women like Portadown Sculptress Anne Acheson CBE who changed the world of medicine with her innovative Plaster of Paris invention and Mrs Hobbs of Union Street in Lurgan, who lost three of her four sons in action on the same day. The performance will also pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, including Lurgan born Private William McFadzean who gave his life for his comrades and was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery and John Condon from Waterford, thought to be the youngest Allied soldier killed in the First World War at just age 14.
“Marking 100 Years Since the End of the Great War”, Lurgan Park, Saturday 22 September at 2.00pm. Admission is free.
Discover more from LoveBelfast
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
