National Day of Commemoration – Royal Hospital Kilmainham – 12 July 2026
Throughout Ireland, the National Day of Commemoration, An Lá Comórtha Náisiúnta, took place on Sunday, 12 July 2026. This year the principal event was held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. Ceremonies were also held in Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford. In parallel, personnel of 128 Infantry Battalion serving with UNIFIL participated in a Ceremony at the Tibnine Monument, honouring the memory of Defence Forces personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice on peacekeeping duties in Lebanon.
The aim of the National Day of Commemoration is to commemorate all those Irish soldiers who lost their lives in past wars, or on military service with the United Nations and other International Organisations in the service of peace.
The National Day of Commemoration occurs on the Sunday nearest to the 11 July, the anniversary of the date in 1921 when a truce was signed ending the War of Independence.
The first National Day of Commemoration was held on 13 July 1986 in the Garden of Remembrance, during which a commemorative plaque was unveiled by President Patrick Hillery. The ceremony was moved to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 1987. Due to structural renovations, the 2018, 2019 and 2022 events were moved from Kilmainham to Collins Barracks, Dublin. On account of Covid no ceremonies were held in 2020 and 2021/ In 2023 the ceremony was held in Collins Barracks Cork, and reverted back to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 2024.
The military and religious State Ceremony in the Royal Hospital was conducted in the presence of the President, the Taoiseach and members of the Government of Ireland, members of the Oireachtas, the Council of State, the Diplomatic Corps, the Judiciary and Northern Ireland representatives.
Attendees also included the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, the next-of-kin of those who died on service with the United Nations, relatives of the 1916 Leaders, and a wide cross-section of the community. Also in attendance were representatives of a range of Representative Associations and Veterans Associations including RACO, PDFORRA, RDFRA, ARCO, ONE. IUNVA and RBL (Republic of Ireland District), and a significant number of Defence Forces Veterans.
The ceremony was relayed by RTÉ 1, open to the public and is available on RTÉ Player..
The Commemorative Plaque carries the following inscription: “In honour of all those Irishmen and Irishwomen, who died in past wars, or on service with the United Nations, and other International Organisations in the service of peace”.
On his arrival, An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin TD, escorted by Major-General Colm Ó’ Luasa, Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) and Major-General John Whittager, Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations), was accorded military honours.
The Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Rossa Mulcahy and the General Officer Commanding 2 Eastern Brigade Brigadier-General Stephen Ryan formally welcomed An tUachtarán Catherine Connolly, accompanied by Mr Brian McEnerny on her arrival at the Royal Hospital with a Captain’s Escort of Honour drawn from 2 Cavalry Squadron under the command of Captain Captain Tadhg Campbell, with Troop Commanders: Lieutenant Dillon McAuliffe and Lieutenant Robert Scully.
Having received the Presidential Salute, President Connolly inspected the Captain’s Tri-Service Guard of Honour under the command of Captain Pete McNamara, 1 Armoured Car Squadron, Defence Forces Training Centre, Curragh.
The Guard of Honour was drawn from the three components of the Defence Forces namely the Army (1 Armoured Cavalry Squadron), the Naval Service and the Air Corps. The Regimental Colours were borne by: Army, 2/Lieutenant C.J. Corcoran; Naval Service, Sub–Lieutenant Fiachra Scully; and Air Corps, Lt Micheal Hayes.
The Parade Commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Aidan Ryan, Defence Forces Headquarters. Commandant Sarah Conlon, Defence Forces Headquarters, was the Parade Marshal.
Representatives of Faith, Belief and the Broader Community participated in a multi-faith act of Commemoration, each according to their own tradition: the Jewish Community of Ireland, the Islamic Cultural Foundation of Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland, the Coptic Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre of Ireland, the Irish Buddhist Community, and the Humanist Association of Ireland.
The musical programme played by the Band of 2 Brigade, under the direction of Captain William Chester included: The Water is Wide, The Last Rose of Summer, Brón, and Kol Nidret (arranged by Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Armstrong),
Accompanied by the Band of 2 Brigade, Company Sergeant Kevin Duncan Defence Forces School of Music, played Limerick Lament (arranged by Lieutenant Brendan Power).
Music interludes were provided by Ms Ava Dodd – Soloist, accompanied by the Band of 2 Brigade, and included: O Christ The Same Through All Our Story’s Pages (arranged by Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Armstrong), and Laudate Dominum (arranged by Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Armstrong). 
The Cadet Honour Guard, drawn from the 102 Cadet Class was under the command of Captain Captain Peter Keenan. The President laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Ireland at the Commemorative Plaque.
This was followed by a period of one minute’s silence terminated by the firing of a 25 Pounder Gun Howitzer deployed by the 2 Brigade Artillery Regiment, with Captain Killian Ahern as the Gun Position Officer. The Detachment Commander was Sergeant Sgt Mark Mulvaney, and the Gun Crew consisted of Gunners Brady, Gaughan, Rohan and Sullivan.
Military honours were rendered by the Cadet Guard of Honour. The Last Post and Reveille were sounded by Corporal Emmet Donlon, Bandswoman Aoife Garry, Bandsman Andrea Rodaro and Bandsman Ciaran Walsh from the Band of 2 Brigade.
The Flag Officer was Captain Calum Byrne, Defence Forces Headquarters.
The ceremony concluded with the playing of The National Anthem and a fly past consisting of four PC9s in formation from the Air Corps. 
The Air Liaison Officer was Lieutenant Padraic Hallihan. The Lead Pilot / Eagle 1 was Captain Daniel McKeown, with Eagle 2 – Lieutenant Ken Godden, Eagle 3 – Lieutenant Seán Curran and Eagle 4 – Commandant Snowdon.
This year marked the 40th Anniversary of the inaugural National Day of Commemoration Ceremony which took place in the Garden of Remembrance, Dublin. In a LinkedIn Post on 09 July, Mark Duncan provided the following link to his article on RTÉ’s website regarding the background to the inaugural ceremony on 13 July 1986, which includes footage of the event: https://www.rte.ie/history/2026/0708/1580102-what-happened-at-the-national-day-of-commemoration-in-1986/
Band 2 Brigade (originally designated The Army No.4 Band and later The Band of the Western Command) was established in 1936, and is based in Custume Barracks, Athlone. With Captain Jim McGee as its Conductor, the Western Command Band deployed overseas on a six-month peacekeeping tour with the United Nations Mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1965. During this tour, the Band performed for both the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus. The Band was the first Defence Forces Band to perform in the United Kingdom when it visited Birmingham. The Band has also performed during engagements in Lebanon, Belgium and France.
The Royal Hospital Kilmainham was built between 1680 and 1684 as a hospital for retired soldiers from the British Army. Based on Les Invalides in Paris, it predates the Royal Hospital in Chelsea by 2 years. It is the oldest neoclassical building in Ireland and was handed over to the Irish Free State in 1922. Since 1991, it has been the home of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and also houses a magnificently restored conference and banqueting centre. The Irish Museum of Modern Art is open to the public Tuesday to Sunday allowing visitors to explore its inspiring exhibitions and free events.
Photographs of the Ceremony courtesy of the Defence Forces Public Relations Branch and Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
Link to RTÉ Report by Sharon Lynch: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0712/1582938-commemmoration-day/
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