Ireland marks 58th anniversary of Hiroshima

The Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will commemorate the 58th anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb with a wreath-laying…

The Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will commemorate the 58th anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hiroshima Memorial Cherry Tree in Dublin's Merrion Square.

The Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Deirdre Heney, will open the Dublin commemoration, and speakers include Dr John de Courcy Ireland, president of Irish CND.

The Scottish-Irish poet Paul Grattan will read some of his poetry, and the wreath will be laid by Irish and German schoolchildren.

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As the US-UK led war on Iraq made clear, the assertion that war is peace is now being trumpeted as truth
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The Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr Tadatoshi Akiba.

Tens of thousands of Japanese civilians were killed when a US Boeing B-29 bomber,

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Enola Gay

, dropped the atomic bomb named "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, at 8.15 a.m. in the morning of August 6th, 1945. More than 230,000 people died from the blast and its after-effects.

The United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki on August 9th and Japan surrendered six days later.

The anniversary is being marked around the world to mark the main focus being in the city of Hiroshima itself. Hiroshima observed the anniversary this morning with condemnation of a global trend towards nuclear proliferation and an invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to visit the Japanese city.

A crowd of thousands including survivors, children and dignitaries gathered today to pray at Hiroshima's Peace Park, close to where the bomb was dropped.

At 8.15 a.m., the time the first bomb exploded, the crowd stood and bowed their heads as the Peace Bell tolled and thousands of doves were released.

Éanna Ó Caollaí

Éanna Ó Caollaí

Iriseoir agus Eagarthóir Gaeilge An Irish Times. Éanna Ó Caollaí is The Irish Times' Irish Language Editor, editor of The Irish Times Student Hub, and Education Supplements editor.