One of Armagh’s most instantly recognised ‘ladies’ is set to mark her milestone 100th birthday.
But the occasion will not be celebrated with a card from His Majesty The King.
Rather, a special ‘birthday’ parade through the streets of Armagh – culminating in a fitting church service – is on the cards instead.
The ‘lady’ in question stands atop a plinth on the Mall in Armagh, an enduring and majestic figure of remembrance.
The War Memorial, or Cenotaph, on the Mall was officially unveiled on December 3, 1926, by James Hamilton, the 3rd Duke of Abercorn and the first Governor of Northern Ireland.
Now the Armagh Branch of the Royal British Legion is preparing to mark what is a significant anniversary with a special parade and service, to be held on Sunday, November 29.
According to the now defunct Northern Whig newspaper, the figure on the pedestal is intended to personify ‘Peace with Honour’, as described in an editorial published just days after the unveiling.
“She holds in the left hand a palm leaf, which is symbolical of peace, while in the right she holds a wreath of laurels, towards which her head is turned in thoughtful contemplation, conveying to the observer the feeling strong in all our hearts of glory and honour to the dead, the memory of whose glorious self-sacrifice the Memorial is intended to perpetuate.”
When the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn made their first official visit to the ancient city of Armagh back in 1926, “flags fluttered and waved their welcome”, while “long before the hour of the ceremony townsfolk had taken up their positions in the Mall, where the memorial, flanked by a couple of guns, occupies such a commanding position”.
Addressing the crowds at the unveiling eight years after the end of the First World War, the Duke told all present: “The main purpose of my visit to your city today is to perform what is, in many ways, an extremely sad ceremony, but I feel that this setting up of memorials to those of our race who fell in the Great War is a duty of this generation and an example to all those who follow after.
“Our thoughts today inevitably turn towards those who lost their lives in that great struggle, but I would ask you at the same time to remember that there are many amongst us who are suffering and many who are in need, and therefore I would charge you never to forget the ex-Service men and women.
“I hope today to take advantage of my visit to see some portion of your city and I am indeed glad to have this opportunity of meeting the representatives of the many and varied interests in the City of Armagh and neighbour.
“I feel myself that the troublesome times through which we have lately lived are passing away and there is a prospect of increased prosperity for our native land and, with this hope, I express the wish that the city and the county of Armagh may share to the full in these better times.”
In a tribute, The Right Hon Sir James H Stronge, DL, said it was only natural that a monument of that kind should have received considerable support from a wide radius of the country, but it was “mainly the memorial of the citizens of Armagh”. While “time softened memories”, it “did not obliterate them”, and “they still felt the same sense of regret for those who did not return on the day peace was declared”.
There was a “deep sense of pride at the way in which their young men and women responded to the call of duty and patriotism”, and they felt that “the honour of England and of Ulster were at stake”.
It was High Sheriff, Major JC Boyle, DL, who, on behalf of the Memorial Committee and the Mall Trustees, handed over the memorials to the Armagh County Council. He remarked that the committee had found there were so many names that it was impossible to obtain them all and, therefore, rather than omit one, had chosen to have none.
Major Boyle also handed over the Russian gun – a memorial of the Crimean War – and the Boer War Memorial, both of which are located today a short distance away on the ‘White Walk’.
Confirmation of the centenary parade and service comes days after the War Memorial was once again at the centre of the City of Armagh’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations and as an annual service there was held to mark Armistice Day on Wednesday, November 11.
A notification has been made to the Parades Commission for a procession from the Armagh Royal British Legion premises on Dobbin Street, leaving at 2.30pm. It will make its way along Barrack Street and Mall West to the Cenotaph, where a service is due to take place and where, 100 years ago, the Duchess of Abercorn stepped forward to place the first of countless wreaths to have been laid there across the decades which have followed.
The parade will be led by one band, the Frontier Pipes and Drums, and after the official proceedings at the Cenotaph, a service will take place in the Mall Presbyterian Church, before returning to Dobbin Street along the same route.
Extending an invitation to come along, the Armagh RBL described it as an “important centenary in the history of our city”, adding: “Unveiled on 3rd December 1926, the memorial stands as a lasting tribute to the brave men and women who answered the call of duty and patriotism and to those who never returned.
“A century on, we gather to remember, reflect and honour their sacrifice, ensuring that their courage and service are never forgotten.”
