Bandon War Memorial

Group at the War Memorial Site, Dublin on National Day of Commemoration, July 2000

The Committee, down through the years since its existence encourage participation in events, projects and fact-finding trips to keep the spirit of our forefathers alive in our hearts and minds. Our annual Remembrance Day ceremony is held with a short parade, prayers by the clergy of all local churches, wreath laying, roll of honour and the last post and reveille is blown. This event is growing from strength to strength with the local Red Cross and Fire Brigade invited to lay wreaths this year. It is recognised that these organisations have ties with war and tragedies. As this year 2001 remembers The Holocaust the Jewish community planted a tree near our Memorial Stone as an act of rememberance. A Mass is also celebrated in a local church near this date, with the committee and friends participating in the ceremony.

All local organisations take part in the St Patrick’s Day National celebrations having a parade through Bandon. The Committee march behind our banner. It is possible that our organisation will take part and parade our banner in the Disbanded Regiments Parade in London, June 2002. For the past few years we have been invited by the Irish government to be present at the National Day of Commemoration at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Dublin to commemorate the Irish involvement in all past wars and on peace missions. The group also visit the War Memorial site at Island Bridge, Dublin on that occasion.

As a number of our members are affiliated to the Royal Munster Fusiliers Assoc., when they attend it’s A.G.M.s The 2001 meeting was held in Tralee. Our group attended and was given a tour of Ballymullin Barracks, Headquarters and Home to the R . M . F . Also the graveyard near the Barracks was visited where serving soldiers of the time were buried and is well maintained. Local graves in Bandon are visited on Remembrance Day and Poppy Crosses are placed on them. Help is given to anyone who enquires about their relations who died while serving in the Forces. Many have travelled abroad to seek out their resting places with the help and company of our organisation.

To maintain local interest the group has visited Collins Barracks, Cork Museum, Fort Berehaven, Castletownbere, Co. Cork and Charlesfort, Kinsale which were occupied posts by British Forces.

Remembrance Day ceremony Nov. 2001 in Bandon began with Mass been cerebrated in the Convent Chapel at 8.45 on the 10^th readings etc. with members participation. On Sunday the 11^th at 3 pm after a short parade to our Memorial Stone the ceremony began with a welcome by our Chairman Michael Doyle, prayers recited by the local clergy of all the churches role of honour of soldiers died in both World Wars read out by six members. The central part of this ceremony was the recognition and remembrance of the Holocaust, the suffering of those innocent peoples and races [non-combatants] who died because of their religion, ethnic difference in those world conflicts, Armenians, Romany, and of course the Jewish people who suffered such a terrible fate in Dachau, Auschwitz, Treblinka. Dare we ever forget in this modern world and it is important to future generations to do the same.

The Bandon War Memorial Committee was honoured with the presence of Rabbi Julia Neuberger at our ceremony this year and she planted a Cedar tree as an act of a living symbolic representation to those who died in the Holocaust adjacent to our Memorial Stone.

Rabbi Neuberger is no stranger to Bandon She has a holiday home in West Cork and is a well known contributor to religious and public life in both Ireland and Britain.

The Last Post & Revallie was blown and the National Flag was raised, Sec. Billy Good thanked those who attended: Clergy, Readers, Wreath Layers, Buglers, Public Representatives including Chairman Town Commission, fellow Commissioners and local T.D. Jim O'Keeffe and those who took part, and brought the ceremony to a close. (Click here for Printable Version)