An Irish nationalist who fought for the British Army during the First World War is to be remembered during a celebratory concert in Enniskillen on July 20.

Francis Ledwidge was a poet from Slane, County Meath. He was a member of the Gaelic League and he and his brother Joe were among the first to join the local branch of the Irish Volunteers, where he became friends with Thomas MacDonagh, one of the seven leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. 

When the Volunteers split over the issue of support for the First World War, Ledwidge sided with the minority opposed to joining the war effort. Yet a few weeks later, he enlisted in the 5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, saying: “I joined the British army because she stood between Ireland and an enemy common to our civilisation.” 
He was killed by a stray shell during the Battle of Passchendaele on July 31, 1917.

The concert will begin in St. Macartin’s Cathedral, the home of the Inniskillings Regimental Chapel, and will conclude in St. Michael’s Church. The first half will consist of a review of Ledwidge’s career as a soldier and the second will consider how his military service influenced his poetry. The narrator will introduce readings of Ledwidge’s poetry, recitals of musical settings of his work by Head and Gurney, poetry which influenced him such as WB Yeats and Thomas Moore, and short talks about his military career. The renowned actor and director Adrian Dunbar will draw the evening to a close by reading Seamus Heaney’s emotive poem ‘In Memoriam - Francis Ledwidge’. A booklet of stories and poems written by members of the Fermanagh Writers group and inspired by Ledwidge will be handed out on the evening.

The event is the Inniskillings Museum’s major community engagement event for 2017 and has been supported by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department for Communities and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.

John Graham, Inniskillings Museum Trustee and event co-ordinator commented: “Ledwidge’s story and poetry is as inspiring today as it was 100 years ago when he was killed in Flanders, and it is an honour to bring this special celebration to Enniskillen.”

On June 24, the Irish Minister for European Affairs, Helen Mc Entee led an official representation at a special State commemoration of the centenary of the death of Lance Corporal Francis Ledwidge, who died in the Battle of Passchendaele on July 31, 1917. 
On that occasion, Minister McEntee said: “Ledwidge lived through some of the most transformative events that shaped the history of Ireland and the modern world; it was a period of immense political, social and cultural change. Active in labour and public affairs, as an Irish nationalist, Ledwidge was a founder member of the Irish Volunteers in Slane. He enlisted with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers regiment of the British Army during World War One because, in his own words: ‘she stood between Ireland and an enemy common to our civilisation’.”

John Monaghan of Fermanagh Writers is “very much looking forward to the concert.” The local group was invited by John Graham to take part in the event. They visited the Francis Ledwidge museum in his hometown of Slane and learned a lot about the poet who penned many works, including Lament for Thomas MacDonagh after he faced the firing squad for his role in the Easter Rising.

“He is such an interesting character which is why so many of our writers are intrigued by him,” said John, who explained the Fermanagh Writer’s booklet be given out on the night and will contain 12 stories and poems inspired by Ledwidge’s life.
Tickets for the concert are free but numbers are strictly limited and may be requested from the Inniskillings Museum at info@inniskillingsmuseum.com or telephoning +44 28 6632 3142