Worshippers from North and South and from all the main churches attended a ceremony in Dublin yesterday to mark the National Day of Commemoration. The President, Mrs McAleese, laid a wreath during the inter-faith service in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, led members of the Government at the event, which commemorates Irish men and women who have died in past wars or in the service of the United Nations.
The Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, the Jewish community and the Islamic community were all represented at the one-hour ceremony, held in the courtyard of the 17th-century hospital. Former servicemen's organisations and relatives of the 1916 leaders also attended. The Army No. 1 Band played The Last Post and hymns were sung by Dr Bernadette Greevy and members of the Palestrina and St Patrick's Cathedral choirs.