1916-2016 Prayer of Remembrance

Office of the Head Chaplain
DFHQ
McKee Barracks
Dublin 7

Dear fellow soldiers of the Irish Defence Forces,

I take this opportunity to wish you and your families every blessing and grace during this Easter Season of 2016. This is an extraordinary time for Ireland.

As we commemorate and celebrate the centenary of the 1916 Rising, the Chaplaincy Service has put together a souvenir prayer-card with a ‘Centenary Prayer of Remembrance’ for all members of the Defence Forces. This is a time to remember the men, women and children who died during the 1916 Rising and throughout the troubled journey in our island’s history. Some of you will have personal, family connections with all that unfolded during Easter week, 1916, but all of us live in its shadow.

This is also a time to look to the future. Thankfully we now live in a time, when maybe for the first time in a very long time, we can truly hope for peace and reconciliation in the century that stretches before us. Many great people of faith brought about our past, and it is you, the people of today that are bringing about our future.

I invite you to include in your commemorations and celebrations your personal faith.  Our ‘Mingy Prayer Book’ (see link here) can help as it embodies core values of Compassion, Inclusion and Engagement in its various prayers, both Christian and multi-faith.   I ask you to join me this Easter season, in remembering, in your prayers;

• All our colleagues in the Irish Defence Forces (‘For the Defence Forces’ p.29) serving at home and abroad.

• The men, women and children of 1916, whose short lives and big dreams extended the horizons of our hopes and all Irish people since then who have worked for the common good. (‘To do Your will’ p. 21).

• Ireland’s future as we begin this new part of our journey together (‘Prayer before setting out on a Journey’ p.34).

With every blessing for you and all those you hold dear.

Wishing you a very Happy Easter and thank you for your contribution and commitment to Ireland and International Peace.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Fr Séamus Madigan
Head Chaplain to the Forces

Navigation Menu