Armistice Day: Ceremonies held across Northern Ireland

PA Media
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly held a memorial service at Stormont
Events and services have taken place across Northern Ireland to mark Armistice Day.
At Stormont, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly held a memorial service led by the speaker Edwin Poots, who laid a poppy wreath in tribute to the fallen.
In Londonderry and Belfast, two-minute silences were held at the Cenotaphs.
The ceremonies are held on 11 November to mark the signing of the Armistice which ended World War One on the same date in 1918.
Armistice Day was originally held in memory of all the British Empire’s soldiers who died in World War One.
However, it now commemorates all British and Commonwealth service personnel who have died in conflicts across the world since 1914.
William Allen from the Royal British Legion said he gets emotional when thinking of the sacrifices servicemen have made
William Allen from the Royal British Legion attended the ceremony in Londonderry at the Diamond War Memorial in the city centre.
He said it is important to honour the sacrifice of all those killed in the world wars as their efforts have ensured society is able to enjoy the freedoms it has today.
He paid tribute to the many young men who were sons, brothers and husbands who left for the war effort but who never came home.
“I’m quite emotional when I think of that and their sacrifice which we should always remember,” he said.
The service in Belfast took place in the Garden of Remembrance at City Hall and was attended by the Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly were among those to take part in the ceremony at Stormont
The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Gavin Robinson, and the Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, both attended the ceremony at Stormont.
Their party received criticism for not sending a representative to Catherine Connolly’s inauguration as Irish president, which Robinson insisted was “not a snub”.
At the ceremony, before the silence was observed, Poots recited part of Laurence Binyon’s poem “For the Fallen”.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them,” Poots said.
After the service Robinson said it was a solemn and fitting act of remembrance.
“As the nation fell silent together at 11:00, it is right that at Stormont we were part of that shared moment of personal and national gratitude and solemnity,” he said.
Alliance party leader Naomi Long and Ulster Unionist party leader Mike Nesbitt were also among those at Stormont.
“I was honoured to pay my respects to those who lost their lives in the line of duty,” Long said on social media.
Armistice Day ceremonies are held on 11 November to mark the end of World War One
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