A Service of Peace and Reconciliation will be held in Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork at 6.30 p.m. on Friday, 1st July, 2016 to commemorate the centenary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme.  It will be attended by ecumenical representatives of other churches in Cork.  All are invited and welcome to attend.

The preacher at the Service will be the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton.  The Dean of Cork, the Very Reverend Nigel Dunne has planned the liturgy.  Music and readings have been chosen especially for the occasion, and wreaths will be laid by representatives of the Defence Forces as well as a number of organisations including: the Royal Munster Fusiliers Association, the Leinster Regiment Association,  the Western Front Association, the Royal British Legion, the Irish Great War Society and the HARP Society.  All those who are laying wreaths have a relative who fought on the Western Front.

All those present will be given the opportunity to light a candle of remembrance.  The Service will conclude with an Act of Commitment to work for reconciliation, peace and justice in our day.