Archbishops of Armagh on Somme Centenary Pilgrimage

Friday June 24th 2016

The Most Rev Dr Richard Clarke (Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh) and the Most Rev Eamon Martin (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh) pictured at the Irish Peace Park, Messines.

The Archbishops of Armagh, the Most Rev Dr Richard Clarke (Church of Ireland) and the Most Rev Eamon Martin (Catholic), have concluded a special centenary pilgrimage which brought a cross-community delegation of young people from across the island of Ireland to significant sites at the Battle of the Somme.

The pilgrimage began on Wednesday June 22 with a visit to Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, which included prayers and a time of reflection at the new Memorial Wall.

The group then travelled to the Somme where, on Thursday June 23, the pilgrims visited graveyards and memorials linked to the 36th Ulster Division and 16th Irish Division – including Thiepval Wood and Guillemont. The day concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.

Members of the Church of Ireland and Catholic joint centenary pilgrimage pictured at the Irish Peace Park, Messines.

On Friday morning, June 24, the group visited the site of the Christmas truce, Tyne Cot Cemetery and Essex Farm, near Ypres, before prayers and a time for reflection at Irish Peace Park, Messines. This was followed by a visit to the Memorial Museum at Passchendaele.