Northern Ireland's deputy first minister visits Flanders Fields

The deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness, paid a visit to the battlefields of West Flanders this week, together with Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois.

McGuinness, one of the co-heads of the Northern Ireland Executive, first stopped at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Mesen (also known by its French name Messines), the site of the two Battles of Messines, in 1914 and 1917. The Peace Park is a memorial to Irish soldiers from north and south (Ireland had not yet been split into two parts) who died in the First World War.

He also visited the Wytschaete Military Cemetery and the 16th Irish Division Memorial to the troops who died in the 1917 battle to capture the village of Wytschaete during the Battle of Messines. McGuinness and Bourgeois both laid wreaths (photo) at the site, and later visited the Menin Gate in Ypres for the Last Post ceremony.

“World War One is an important part of Ireland’s multi-layered history during which tens of thousands of Irish people lost their lives,” McGuinness said. “If we are to build understanding and reconciliation on this island, we all need to recognize and accept the complexity of the historical events and different political narratives that make us who we are as a community and as a people.”

Photo: Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois (left) and Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness lay wreaths at Wytschaete Military Cemetery. ©Lieven Van Assche/Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs