The Meath War Dead

As regards centenaries and the upcoming remembrance of the Irish Revolution this goes hand in hand with the centenary of the Great War 1914-1918. The commemoration of the Irish dead of that war has been problematic over the years but is now an accepted part of the national story.

Over five hundred men from Meath died in the Great War. Their lives and those of their families are recorded in a new book, The Meath War Dead, by Trim author Noel French. Noel has been director of the Meath Heritage Centre, Trim since 1987 and has written twelve local histories and has had a number of articles published in Riocht na Midhe.

The book is being launched by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, in the Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim at 7pm on this Thursday, 15 December. It is published by the History Press.

These Meath war dead lie in graveyards from Basra to Bermuda, from Jerusalem to Gallipoli, from Ypres to Teltown and everywhere in between. This new book contains a comprehensive record of those men and includes those who died at sea. One hundred men from Navan and district died in the war. Twenty families lost more than one member in the war. The poet, Francis Ledwidge, is the most well-known of the Meath causalities of the war.

Not only are the dates and places of deaths of each man recorded but the author attempts to give some background details including parents, dates of baptisms, occupations of their parents and their own occupations. The present families of the men who died provided photographs and never before seen correspondence for this publication.