Irish president pays tribute to servicemen and women killed in conflict

Ireland’s president has led tributes to Irish men and women killed in conflict, during a commemorative ceremony in Dublin.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other government ministers joined Michael D Higgins at the National Day of Commemoration event at Collins Barracks in the Irish capital.

Similar ceremonies were held in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Sligo, Kilkenny and Waterford as the nation honoured those men and women killed in wars or on United Nations service.

Relatives of those who lost their lives were invited to the main ceremony in Dublin, which was also attended by a number of veterans.

Descendants of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule were also invited.

During the ceremony, President Higgins laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Ireland.

He also inspected a guard of honour formed by members of the Irish Defence Forces.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney, Defence Minister Paul Kehoe, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and Culture Minister Josepha Madigan were among the senior politicians in attendance.

Several religious leaders, including Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, delivered readings during the ceremony.

The event ended with a flypast by three aircraft from the Air Corps.