Academic receives tribute for work on those who served in WWI

WATERFORD'S mayor has paid tribute to the work done by a Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) academic, which "ensured the sacrifices" of 114 known people from the south-east who served in the first world war would be remembered. Communications and history lecturer Alice McDermott on November 11 led the Memorial to the Fallen research project within the institute's school of humanities. The project examined the experiences of men and women from the region who served in the war and how the conflict impacted on their families. Ms McDermott's work culminated in an ecumenical remembrance service at WIT on Armistice Day, the 90th anniversary of the war's ending.

Accepting a roll of honour containing the names of those from the south-east known to have served in the war, mayor of Waterford Cr Jack Walsh said: "It is really only in the recent past that there has been a fuller recognition of the bravery of these very young Irish men and women who went to fight in foreign fields for a cause they believed in passionately." The work is on permanent display as part of the Waterford Treasures at the Granary exhibition in the city.

"The work done by Alice McDermott and her research colleagues has ensured that a new generation can now learn about these people in an accessible and personalised way," said Mr Walsh. "One of the issues with any remembrance of historic events can be how to get away from the rawness of cold statistics and - in the case of wars - casualty figures, instead looking behind these to individual stories and experiences."

The work burrows down to that individual level an accurate sense of what it was like for those who left Irish shores amid much uncertainty over 90 years ago, added Mr Walsh.

Ms McDermott said: "This has been a tremendous piece of research to be involved in and I've had massive support from colleagues, and from the families of those who served in the war. The south-east had a particularly strong representation among the cohort of Irish people who fought in WWI and it has been a privilege for me to help shed some light for today's young people and indeed people of all ages on just what was involved."