Strong Westmeath presence at 1916 ceremonies

There will be a strong Westmeath presence at this weekend’s events in Dublin commemorating the Easter Rising.

Playing a central role will be the members of the 2 Artillery Regiment, many from the Mullingar area. They will be among the 3,000 Defence Forces personnel marching through the streets of Dublin this Sunday.

The Custume Barracks based regiment will be towing four 105 anti-tank guns and a BV206 Air Defence Vehicle in the parade, which is one of the biggest in the history of the state.

At around 2pm on Sunday, while the parade is taking place in the centre of Dublin, members of the regiment will perform a 21 Gun Salute at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham. Most of the Gun Salute group are from the Mullingar area and served in Columb Barracks.

Regt Sgt Major Noel O’Callaghan said that Sunday’s events will be the culmination of months of training. The regiment will also be participating at events throughout Easter Week, including the wreath laying ceremony at Boland’s Mill on Monday.

“We’ve been up and down to the Curragh for rehearsals. All of the units (in the Defence Forces) will be marching (on Sunday), but no other regiment will be doing the Gun Salute or towing the artillery. It’s a big honour.

“We had a full dress rehearsal for the parade last week and it’s very impressive.

“A lot of the men of the front of the marching block are from the Mullingar area, such as Sgt Ollie McNamee, Sgt John McDonnell, Sgt Mick McKeown, Sgt Martin Quinn.”

Regt Sgt Major O’Callaghan and Sgt Alan Graham from Mullingar also trained the marching block of the Civil Defence that will be taking part in Sunday’s parade.

The Civil Defence’s marching block of 100 will be led by Brian Gillen, head of the Westmeath branch. Other local members that will be marching include Joe O’Reilly, Imelda Barden, Martin McDonagh, Martin Moffitt and PJ Fitzpatrick, who will also have the honour of carrying the Civil Defence pennant.

Local members of the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women and the Irish United Nations Veterans Association will also be marching in this Sunday’s parade.

For more information on the events taking place in Dublin and around the country this weekend visit: ireland.ie, while the local programme for centenary events can be found at westmeathcoco.ie.