AN ARMISTICE DAY commemoration was held this afternoon in Glasnevin Cemetery to remember the Irish men and women who died in World War I.

More than 200,000 took part in the conflict, and the estimates for the numbers killed range from 30,000 to 50,000.

Speaking today, the Minister for Heritage Heather Humphreys said the cemetery was an appropriate place to remember those who died.

“Glasnevin Cemetery, where people of all shades of political opinion and religion are buried side by side, is an appropriate setting for us to come together in memory of those brave men from across Ireland, who gave their lives in the Great War,” she said.

Whatever their background, each of those soldiers made the same ultimate sacrifice.

Wreaths were laid at the Cross of Sacrifice in the cemetery, which Chairman of Glasnevin Trust John Green said would become “a lasting tribute”.

“Events such as this play a significant part in helping to reconcile the social wounds that emerged almost a century ago when the different forms of personal sacrifice of Ireland’s youth, both in the Great War and the Easter Rising, were harshly compared to each other,” Green commented.

Ambassadors from Britain, the united States, Austria, Australia, New Zealand and Germany were also in attendance at the ceremony.

In pictures: 96 years ago today, peace broke out >

Read: These prints show how artists reacted to World War I >

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