Sligo County Council and the Sligo Peace & Reconciliation Partnership Committee are developing a peace themed project to mark the Centenary of the First World War entitled News from the Past.
A central element of efforts to mark the 100th anniversary of the conflict is the publication of the list of Sligo fatalities, which dramatically increases the amount of men who died during the war from the area.
During the First World War, Ireland fought for the British Crown, as part of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The First World War saw unrest in Ireland, most notably the 1916 Easter Rising which aimed to establish Ireland as an independent state. The insurrection in Dublin was quashed by British forces.
Brian Scanlon, who has been working on the project and is also a member of the Sligo Military Association, led efforts to collate the list of those who died in combat during the First World War.
His new list challenges the official figure of 370 Sligo war dead, with Mr. Scanlon’s research highlighting 548 who died.
The list has been published online with filter options allowing searches by name, town, street, rank, regiments, service numbers and date of birth.
Compiling and publishing the list has been described as “the first phase” of News from the Past – organisers are now calling on people to search the lsit for family members and to come forth with any documents or objects related to them.
They plan to create an exhibition at Sligo County Museum based on any items brought forward.
Organisers state that the aim of the project is “to commemorate the of Sligo’s involvement in the war, to uncover the untold stories, to acknowledge the role they played and to pay tribute to the 548 people who lost their lives.
If you know of any items which may be of interest to the exhibition, please email info@newsfromthepast.ie.
To search the list of Sligo’s war dead, click here.
Source: News from the Past
Images courtesy of News from the Past
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News