The President, Mrs McAleese, travels to Belgium today for a two-day visit to memorials in Flanders commemorating Irish soldiers who died in the first World War.
This afternoon, Mrs McAleese will visit the Island of Ireland Peace Park near Messines, which she inaugurated in the presence of Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Belgium's King Albert in 1998.
The memorial attracted controversy after trees commemorating soldiers from the four provinces died in a harsh winter that followed the inauguration. The Office of Public Works and Northern Ireland's Construction services ended almost three years of feuding among the park's backers when they took charge of renovating and landscaping it. The park is now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Association, under contract to the two governments.
Before visiting Messines, the President will view a memorial to the poet Francis Ledwidge at Boezinge, built on the spot where he was killed by a shell on 31st July 1917.
She will also visit the grave of Private John Condon, from Waterford, who was, at 14, the youngest soldier in the British army to die in the war.
Tomorrow, Mrs McAleese will speak at a conference at Messines' International School for Peace Studies.
Other speakers at the week-long conference include Mr Gregory Campbell (DUP), Mr Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin), Mr David Ervine (PUP) and Senator Maurice Hayes.