Roscommon Senator Frank Feighan calling on Oireachtas members to wear Shamrock Poppy pin to mark centenary of WWI Armistice

Senator Frank Feighan has called on every Oireachtas member and councillor in the country to mark the centenary of the Armistice of WWI by wearing a shamrock poppy pin.

November 11 2018 marks the one-hundred year anniversary of the end of the First World War, prompting Feighan to make the request.

The red poppy is seen as a remembrance symbol that has been used since 1921 to commemorate military personnel who have died in war and has large ties to the British army.

The Royal British Legion specifies that the poppy stands for 'a specific type of Remembrance connected to the British Armed Forces, those who were killed, those who fought with them and alongside them.'

A shamrock poppy pin is a more specific version of the poppy pin, which recognises Irish soldiers who fought in World War I.

Feighan last year presented Leo Varadkar with a shamrock poppy pin which he wore to the Dail to commemorate the sacrifices of Irish men and women - both nationalist and unionist - who fought and died during the war.

In a letter to councillors across the country, Feighan said:

"Thankfully, there is a new political dawn in this country where our shared histories on this island allow us to remember all those Irish men and women killed in the Great War - especially those from the 26 counties whose sacrifices up until the last number of year were neglected and ignored."

He also cited Tom Burnell, a historian from Tipperary, who estimates that almost 30,000 Irishmen and women were killed in the war.

"Irrespective of people's feelings about the war, I believe the centenary of the armistice should be marked this year to remember those Irish men and women," he concluded the letter.