Honoring the Irishmen who died at Gallipoli

{The waters ran red with the blood of the Dublin and Munster Fusiliers and the 2nd Hampshire Regiment who were slaughtered trying to get ashore at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.}

I wish I was traveling with President Mary McAleese at the moment.

The President is at Gallipoli in Turkey today and tomorrow where she is honoring those Irishmen who took part in the 1915 campaign there. This is the first time that this state has officially recognized those Irishmen who died there.

Coincidentally, last night I was racing through the channels during an ad break, as one does, when I stumbled onto the 1981 Australian movie "Gallipoli", starring a young Mel Gibson. "Gallipoli" is a good reflection of the Australians' view of the war which definitely fits the old adage of 'lions led by donkeys.'

More than 8,700 Australians died at Gallipoli and because of the ultimate failure and the simple of waste of life there, Gallipoli is a key moment in Australian history. Every Australian knows about Gallipoli.

Somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 Irishmen also died there, but virtually nobody in Ireland, particularly from south of the border, knows anything about this. I cannot imagine any Irish person making a movie like the Australians' "Gallipoli". Maybe someday.

For the moment I'm just glad that to see that the President has acknowledged the sacrifice of the thousands of Irishmen at Gallipoli and the whole First World War.

Go here for more about the Irish at Gallipoli and you can watch the RTE News report of the President's visit here (fast forward to the 17:58 mark).