Northern Ireland Remembers The Somme

Northern Ireland's politicians have attended a memorial service at the Garden of Remembrance at Belfast City Hall to mark the 97th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

First Minister Peter Robinson and Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Costello were among those who attended.

The memorial was led by Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Christopher Stalford.

The Lord Mayor, Sinn Féin's Máirtín Ó'Muilleoir, laid a wreath earlier, ahead of the ceremony.

The service was also attended by representatives of the churches and the Royal British Legion, members of the armed forces, veterans and the Orange Order.

Representatives from the DUP, the Ulster Unionists, the Alliance Party and the SDLP were also in attendance.

Alliance Lagan Valley MLA Trevor Lunn said: "We should never forget the sacrifice of those who died at the Somme. We should be doing all that is possible to honour all those young men who lost their lives during this battle.

"I am pleased to see the on-going development of interest in the Irish Republic of these commemorations with the second attendance of an Irish Minister at the cenotaph memorial at Belfast City Hall. These are shared events and we should be taking every possible opportunity to remember those who died from both sides of the border."

The Ulster Unionist Party's Mark Cosgrove said: "I would like to congratulate all who took part in the annual Church parade to Donegall Pass. The members of the Loyal Orders and the Belfast public were treated to a beautiful array of melody flute music by Mourne Young Defenders that would not have been out of place in a concert hall.

"Today we walked to a Church service to remember the young men from both traditions in the 36th Ulster Division and the 16th Irish Division who fought together at the Somme against a common enemy, that we might today live as free men and women.

"It is a fantastic example that there is much more that unites us than divides us. As the parading season reaches its climax let us all remember their example."

(IT/CD)