Continuing a tradition begun by former Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 2012, current Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended the Remembrance Day commemoration in Enniskillen on Sunday morning, November 14, where he laid a wreath at the town’s Cenotaph.

Mr. Martin laid a laurel wreath at the war memorial on Belmore Street, Enniskillen on a misty Sunday morning before standing in silence to pay his respects.

He was joined by The Queen’s Lord Lieutenant for County Fermanagh, Viscount Brookeborough; Northern Ireland Education Minister Michelle McIlveen; Northern Ireland Minister of State, Conor Burns MP, who attended the commemoration in place of the Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, who was unable to attend due to a Covid-19 diagnosis; the US Consulate General representative Chris Rendo; the Honorary Consul of Poland, Jerome Mullen; the NI Executive representative, the Shadow Secretary of State for NI, Louise Haigh; and Arlene Foster, former First Minister.

The Royal British Legion and local councillors were also in attendance to mark the Act of Remembrance at the Cenotaph.

Wreaths were laid by dignitaries from the British Army, the emergency services, representatives from the army, navy and air force, local schools, army cadets, RUC George Cross, St. John’s Ambulance and the Red Cross, to name but a few.

Hundreds of people turned out to mark the occasion on Sunday, after numbers were restricted last year due to the pandemic. They observed a solemn two-minute silence.

The event took place 34 years on from the IRA’s infamous Poppy Day bomb attack by the Enniskillen war memorial.

Eleven people who had gathered to pay respects to the war dead were killed, and dozens more were injured in the no-warning blast in 1987, just minutes before the event was due to start.

A 12th victim of the bombing, Ronnie Hill, died 13 years later, having never woken from a coma.

Arrangements were made to give relatives of the Enniskillen Remembrance Day Bombing an opportunity to attend the Cenotaph immediately before the Act of Remembrance and two-minute silence at 10.30am.

A parade travelled from the Cenotaph through the town centre. The Lord Lieutenant took the salute at Enniskillen Courthouse, then continued on to the South African War Memorial, where a wreath was laid.

Following the wreath-laying ceremony held at the Cenotaph and the parade, the Remembrance Service was held in St. Macartin’s Cathedral at 11.30am.

The service was also live-streamed online, as the cathedral had restricted capacity due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions.

The service was conducted by the Dean of Clogher, the Very Reverend Kenneth Hall, and the Bishop of Clogher, the Right Reverend Dr. Ian Ellis was the preacher.

Monsignor Peter O’Reilly of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church led the prayers.

The readings were by John Jones, Chairman of the Enniskillen Branch of the Royal British Legion; Viscount Brookeborough; and Scott Elliott, Parish Reader.

During the Act of Remembrance, a page in the Book of Remembrance was turned by Lt. Col Mark Scott (Retired) MBE, DL Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who also led the exhortation.

The Last Post and Reveille were sounded by Warren Kerr, of Ballyreagh Silver Band, and a Piper’s Lament was played by Pipe Major Gordon McKeown, 4 UDR Association.