Praise for new World War I dead website

THE staff of Wexford Library Service who developed the Wexford War Dead website were praised for the phenomenal work they have put into the project, which honours Wexford men who gave their lives in the ‘war to end all wars’.

Cllr Malcolm Byrne congratulated the library service on the launch of the website the previous day, Sunday, November 11, a century on from the signing of the Armistice. ‘It’s a superb resource with over 800 individuals who died recorded. It’s a phenomenal achievement,’ he said.

Cllr Fionntáin Ó Suilleabháin praised the library staff under its manager Eileen Morrissey for developing the website. Director of Services John Carley said: ‘So far we have 860 different records online and we are encouraging people to come forward with more stories of Wexford people who fought and died in World War I.’

Cllr Paddy Kavanagh said it would also be a worthwhile exercise to record the names of the Wexford soldiers who fought and survived the war. ‘It would make for an interesting statistic. For too long they were ostracised and kept out of jobs,’ Cllr Kavanagh said.

Cllr Robbie Ireton said a letter should be sent from the council to Canon Mark Hayden for the monument he unveiled in Gorey.

Cllr Ireton said: ‘It’s great to see them going up all over the country as for too long the soldiers weren’t talked about in homes. They were treated like a leper.’

Concern was expressed that the lessons of the war have been lost on several world leaders today.