President Higgins laid a wreath at the memorial commemorating Australians who died in wars. The Australian War Memorial aims to promote awareness of the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society.
Many Irish-born men fought with the the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in World War I.
Some 6,600 Irish-born men and women served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, many of them recent arrivals into Australia: Around two-thirds of the Irish men who enlisted had arrived in the country after 1909. In addition, many Irish serving in the British forces fought alongside the ANZACs at Gallipoli, which was a seminal event in Australia’s history.
President Higgins attended World War I centenary Commemorations in Belgium (August 2014), Gallipoli (April 2015), the Somme (2016) and Dublin (2016).
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