JANUARY 2008

World War I wreath-laying ceremony at Fahan

A wreath-laying ceremony will take place on Saturday 26th January in memory of the 344 men who perished on the HMS Laurentic which was sunk off Lough Swilly on 25th January 1917, at the height of the First World War. The Canadian Ambassador to Ireland is to attend the ceremony in Fahan, which starts promptly at 2pm. This is the second year in which the Laurentic has been remembered in this way.

Twenty one of those who died on the Laurentic were from Newfoundland. The ceremony is the initiative of Don McNeil, a Newfoundlander now resident in Buncrana, and the Ulster Newfoundland Initiative.

Ambassador Patrick Binns will be accompanied by Captain Norm Jolin who will represent the Canadian Navy, and wreaths will also be laid by the Inishowen Friends of Messines, the Royal Naval Association, the R.N.L.I. and the Ireland Newfoundland Partnership.

Hidden for years behind Fahan COI Church, a large Celtic Cross marks the mass grave in which many of the Laurentic passengers and crew now rest. Many other victims of both the Laurentic and other ships sunk by both mines and U-Boats are buried in graveyards around the coast of Ireland.

The organisers of the ceremony would like to invite everyone from Inishowen and the northwest to come along, not only to remember the Laurentic but to show solidarity with the people of Newfoundland, with whom we have such strong historical links.