Taoiseach lays wreath in Enniskillen to mark Remembrance Sunday
Cillian Sherlock, PA
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and UK Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris have laid wreaths at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Co Fermanagh.
On a rainy day in Enniskillen, hundreds stood in silence for two minutes to mark the occasion at the war memorial in the town.
New PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher and head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Jayne Brady were among those who laid wreaths during the commemoration.
Mr Heaton-Harris laid a poppy wreath on behalf of the UK government.
The gathered crowd also heard music from the Ballyreagh Silver Band.
Britain's King Charles III's representative, the Lord-Lieutenant for County Fermanagh Viscount Brookeborough, as well as a representative from Enniskillen Guides, also placed wreaths.
Mr Varadkar’s presence continued a tradition started by former taoiseach Enda Kenny by attending and placing a laurel wreath at the base of the memorial.
Mr Kenny became the first taoiseach to attend a Remembrance Day service in Northern Ireland when he took part in commemorations at Enniskillen in 2012, in a move seen as symbolic of greater recognition afforded in the Republic to Irishmen who fought and died serving in the British army in the First World War.
His attendance also marked the 25th anniversary of an IRA bombing at the memorial in 1987.
Eleven people who had gathered to pay their respects to the war dead were killed and dozens more were injured in the no-warning blast on November 8th, 1987, just minutes before Remembrance Sunday was due to start.
A 12th victim of the bombing died 13 years later, having never woken from a coma.
