The Cenotaph, Belfast
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The Belfast Cenotaph is a
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, in
Donegall Square Donegall Square is a square in the centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. At its centre is Belfast City Hall, the headquarters of Belfast City Council. Name Each side of the square is named according to its geographical location, i.e. Donegal ...
West, to the west of
Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall (; Ulster-Scots: ) is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grad ...
. Like the City Hall, it was designed by Sir
Alfred Brumwell Thomas Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas (24 February 1868 – 22 January 1948) was an English architect who trained at Westminster School of Art and became an exponent of the Baroque Revival, a style of architecture prevalent for public buildings in the e ...
. The
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...
was unveiled in 1929. It became a Grade A
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
in 1984. The memorial includes a central
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
monument about , with bronze brackets on either side supporting flagpoles. The top of the monument has carved
laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...
s, symbolising victory and honour. It bears several inscriptions: on the north side: "PRO DEO / ET / PATRIA // ERECTED BY / THE CITY / OF / BELFAST / IN MEMORY OF / HER / HEROIC SONS / WHO MADE / THE SUPREME / SACRIFICE / IN / THE GREAT WAR / 1914–1918 // THROUGHOUT THE LONG YEARS OF STRUGGLE WHICH / HAVE NOW SO GLORIOUSLY ENDED THE MEN OF ULSTER / HAVE PROVED HOW NOBLY THEY FIGHT AND DIE / GEORGE R.I." and on the south face: "THEY DEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO A GREAT CAUSE AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS BY LAND, SEA AND AIR WON UNDYING FAME".Belfast Cenotaph
Imperial War Museum
The monument stands on three steps. To the south is an arc of paired Corinthian columns forming a –high
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
. To the north is a sunken garden of remembrance, which since 2011 has been the location for an annual
Field of Remembrance The Field of Remembrance is a memorial garden organised annually by the Poppy Factory in Westminster, London. For eight days, from the morning of the Thursday before Remembrance Sunday until the evening of following Thursday, the lawn of St ...
. The paving of the garden was renewed in 1993. The memorial was completed in 1927 and was officially unveiled by
Viscount Allenby Viscount Allenby, of Megiddo and of Felixstowe in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 7 October 1919 for the prominent military commander Field Marshal Sir Edmund Allenby, with remainder, in ...
on 11 November 1929. No Catholic organisations participated in the formal unveiling ceremony, but veterans from the
16th (Irish) Division The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', ...
laid a wreath after the ceremony ended, and participated the following year. In addition to the usual
Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
services, there are also annual ceremonies to remember the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July. Controversially, the first
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the city's 60 councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcoming guests from across the U ...
Alex Maskey Alex Maskey (born 8 January 1952) is an Irish former politician who served as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2020 to 2024 and was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2002 to 2003. He was Sinn Fà ...
laid a wreath on 1 July 2002. Nearby are memorials to the service of Irish regiments in the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
and the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, and to US forces who arrived in Northern Ireland in 1942.


See also

*
List of public art in Belfast This is a list of public art on permanent public display in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The list applies only to works of public art accessible in a public space; it does not include artwork on display inside museums. Public art may include sculptu ...
*
List of Grade A listed buildings in County Antrim This is a list of Grade A listed buildings in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of "special architectural or historic interest" ...


References


External links

* {{coord, 54.59618, -5.93091, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB-NIR, display=title British military memorials and cemeteries Buildings and structures in Belfast Grade A listed buildings Listed monuments and memorials in Northern Ireland