The President Mrs McAleese attended the service for Remembrance Sunday at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin yesterday. She was accompanied by her husband Martin. Her aide-de-camp Col Tralaoch Young laid a laurel wreath on her behalf at the war memorial in the cathedral.
The first lesson, from Isaiah, was read by the British ambassador, Mr Stewart Eldon, with the second lesson read by the retired Irish Defence Forces chief of staff, Lieut Gerry McMahon, who is also director of the organisation of national ex-servicemen. He read from the gospel of Luke warning against hypocrisy. "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."
At the beginning of the service a tricolour had been placed beside an arrangement of poppies beneath the pulpit.
As well as Britain's ambassador, the attendance also included the German ambassador, Mr Gottfried Haas, the Netherlands ambassador, Mr Jacobus van der Velden, and the Belgian ambassador, Mr Wilfred Greens.
France was represented by the deputy head of missions, Mr Luc Almeras, Italy by first secretary, Dr Andrea Luca Lepore, Russia by Mr Viacheslav Nikiforov, Canada by Mr Carl Schwenger, and Greece by Mr Nicholas Protonotarios.
Poppy wreaths were also laid at the war memorial on behalf of each of the represented embassies, as well as on behalf of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Estonia. Further poppy wreaths were laid on behalf of various veteran organisations including the Royal British Legion, the Grenadier Guards, the Dublin Fusiliers, the Coldstream Guards, the RAF association, the Connaught Rangers, the Leinster Rangers, the Munster Fusiliers, the Irish United Nations Veterans Association, the Royal Navy Association, the Salvation Army, the IRFU, Trinity College, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, the Dublin and Wicklow districts of the Orange Institution.
Standards from veterans groups were also placed at the memorial. The sermon was by retired RAF chaplain Rev Brian McAvoy, who is from Dublin.
