Background
The commemoration of Irish soldiers and wars has been fragmented within Ireland for historical and political reasons.
Ceremonies to honour Irish soldiers who fought in the First World War have been held in Ireland in November on Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day since the war's end. These are mainly organised by the Royal British Legion and observed by ex-Unionists and ex-servicemen and relatives. The focal points were St Patrick's Cathedral and the Irish National War Memorial Gardens, both in Dublin. Though many Irish nationalists served in the British Army prior to independence, this was not generally held in high esteem by later generations. Independent Ireland remained neutral in World War II, and although thousands of its citizens served in the allied armies, the state did not at first mark this.
Commemoration of the Irish War of Independence was muted by the bitterness of the Irish Civil War that followed from it. The preceding 1916 Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland was the focus, with Easter Day considered the "National Day of Commemoration". There was a major parade each Easter until 1971, when the Troubles in Northern Ireland made the commemoration of the earlier Irish Republican rebels more problematic in symbolism. Smaller official commemorations persisted at Arbour Hill Prison.
Within the Defence Forces, a Commemoration Day for deceased former members is held on All Souls' Day, November 2. July 11, the anniversary of the 1921 truce, had already been a special Army holiday before being the base date for the National Day of Commemoration.
Read more about this topic: National Day Of Commemoration
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