As Leitrim looks towards the 28th June, the centenary of the Treaty of Versailles, an exhibition telling of WW1 through the lens of Leitrim and its people is touring the county. Part of Leitrim’s Versailles Programme and supported by Leitrim Peace IV Partnership, it shares experiences from some Leitrim families who lost loved ones in the Great War.
Among
those remembered in the exhibition are Patrick Canning, son of Patrick and Mary
Canning of Ballinamore, who enlisted as Patrick McGuire, although the exact
reason why is not known. Having lost his life on 25 March 1917, Patrick
is commemorated at Belgium’s Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery. Patrick
McGuinness of Kiltyclogher served as Lance Corporal with the Royal
Engineers. Injured in the field, he was one of the few to recuperate at home.
He passed away in October 1915 and now rests in Rossinver Old Graveyard.
The exhibition comprises personalised artworks remembering the fallen - some created by family members and others under an ‘Adopt a Soldier’ programme – and a pop up museum of personal artefacts and family treasures of that time, accompanied by Gallant Sons, a National Library of Ireland touring exhibition. Following successful exhibitions in Ballinamore and Carrigallen, the exhibition is in Leitrim Sculpture Centre’s Main Street Gallery, Manorhamilton from 30 May to 14 June.
The Remembering Leitrim War Dead project is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
