Event on WW1 end

The end of the Great War is being commemorated at a free event this Saturday in Lurgan Park.
Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Julie Flaherty, joins broadcaster Claire McCollum and Ethan McNichol of NI Historical Airsoft Society ahead of a free commemorative event in Lurgan Park at 2pm this Saturday (22 September) Marking 100 Years since the end of the Great War.Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Julie Flaherty, joins broadcaster Claire McCollum and Ethan McNichol of NI Historical Airsoft Society ahead of a free commemorative event in Lurgan Park at 2pm this Saturday (22 September) Marking 100 Years since the end of the Great War.
Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Julie Flaherty, joins broadcaster Claire McCollum and Ethan McNichol of NI Historical Airsoft Society ahead of a free commemorative event in Lurgan Park at 2pm this Saturday (22 September) Marking 100 Years since the end of the Great War.

Organised by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council the 1914-18 war will be commemorated through music, poetry and dance.

Broadcaster Claire McCollum, whose great uncle was lost in World War I, will narrate the performance and will be joined on stage by musicians, poets and dancers.

They will perform a chronological account of the war through the eyes of people, mostly women, who were left here to bring up their families and work at home while their loved ones fought in the war.

Lord Mayor Cllr Julie Flaherty, said: “This conflict touched the lives of millions of people from across the country and indeed from across the world. An entire generation was defined by the war, on the battlefield and on the Home Front. This poignant arts event will remind us all of the great sacrifice made by local people and will help us reflect on a hugely significant time in our local and global history.”

Council’s Good Relations team, with music producer Mark Wilson, has enlisted help from local arts societies, the NI Historical Airsoft Society and members of the Bulgarian and Polish communities to produce a two hour reflective event which will entertain but also enable the audience to contemplate respectfully on the impact the Great War had on their families and community. It will tell the story of local people from the Borough.

Tributes will be paid to women like Portadown Sculptress Anne Acheson CBE who changed the world of medicine with her innovative Plaster of Paris invention and Mrs Hobbs of Union St, Lurgan, who lost three of her four sons in action on the same day. The performance will also pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, including Lurgan born Private William McFadzean who gave his life for his comrades and was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery and John Condon from Waterford, thought to be the youngest Allied soldier aged just 14. The event, “Marking 100 Years Since the End of the Great War”, is at 2.00pm. Admission is free.