IRELAND HAS never shirked its responsibility in the cause of world peace, President Mary McAleese said yesterday after officially opening the Mayo Peace Park and Remembrance Garden in Castlebar.
The centre-piece of the peace park is a polished stone memorial bearing the names of more than 1,000 men and women from Co Mayo who died in all wars and conflicts of the past century while serving with allied and commonwealth forces.
President McAleese said the opening of the peace park was a simple gesture of respect and honour for all those from Mayo who gave their lives in the unselfish service of others.
Some, she said, gave service in the uniform of the Irish Army with the United Nations while others wore the uniforms of other armies.
"Some of those who died were destined to be well-remembered," said Mrs McAleese.
"Others, particularly the 50,000 or more who died in the Great War, were destined to have their memories consigned to shoe-boxes in attics until recent years, when a great longing for reconciliation allowed us to remember differently," Mrs McAleese said during the opening.
Tight security was in place for yesterday's ceremonies which were attended by the Australian ambassador to Ireland, Ann Plunkett.
Veterans of past conflicts and their relatives attended the ceremonies which concluded with a wreathlaying by Mrs McAleese and the sounding of the Last Post and Reveille by a bugler from the Irish Guards Regiment.
The President noted that 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of Irish peacekeeping with the United Nations.
"The people of Ireland have taken enormous pride in the professional, tactful and compassionate way our Defence Forces provided protection and care of very troubled communities in conflict situations across the world," she said.
"They have brought hope and dignity to so many anxious and endangered people and they have brought huge credit and international respect to their homeland.
"This small island with its embedded tradition of military neutrality has never shirked its responsibilities in the cause of world peace, and Mayo's sons and daughters have made and continue to make their distinctive contribution."