I visited the beautiful War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge, Dublin where the death of 49,400 Irish soldiers, who died during The Great War 1914-1918, is commemorated.

This calm peaceful garden that borders the River Liffey, was designed by Edwin Lutyens and not only contains the memorial itself with its temple and water ponds, but also two absolutely magnificent rose gardens, planted with thousands of roses. You can get the scent of roses as soon as you get out of your car.

Walking through the gardens and seeing the wreaths is a reminder of the unnecessary slaughter and loss of so many young men in the battle fields of Flanders, Ypres, the Somme and Mons, which was an absolute tragedy.

The war that was meant to last only a few weeks, lasted four years. It decimated families, villages and towns across Europe as casualties mounted on all sides and over six million people died.

A hundred years later and it seems that the world has learned nothing from their sacrifice as war continues to rage in Gaza, the Middle-East, Ukraine and other places.