The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, has said that honouring the spirit of all Irish people killed in the first World War can teach us how to advance the Northern peace process.
Mr Ahern made his comments yesterday at the opening of a Peace Park and Village in Messines, Belgium, and described Northern Ireland's peace process as a "success story, arguably one of the most successful experiences in peace-building, bar none". Mr Ahern added that in order for the peace process to be successful we must not tolerate "sectarian rhetoric or actions. They are the enemies of us all, regardless of which side of the political debate they are on."
The Peace Park is a permanent memorial to Irish people from North and South who lost their lives in the first World War and is a symbol of reconciliation.
"All those untold human stories that we lost in the first World War, and more recently in the conflict in Northern Ireland, must be remembered. And, in remembering, they must not be told for nothing. They must not be told to deepen divisions. They must be told to inspire us to overcome them," Mr Ahern said.