The five thousand Ulstermen who perished in the Battle of the Somme are commemorated by this mock Gothic-style tower, an exact replica of Helen’s Tower at Clanboye, County Down, the place where the Ulster Division did its training. Dedicated in 1921, it has long been a Unionist pilgrimage site; a black obelisk known as the Orange Memorial to Fallen Brethren (1993) stands in an enclosure behind the tower.
It's on the D73 between Beaumont-Hamel and Thiepval; follow the signs to the 'Mémorial Irlandais'.
In a sign that historic wounds are finally healing, in 2006 the Irish Republic issued a €0.75 postage stamp showing the overwhelmingly Protestant 36th Division in action on this site, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Virtually untouched since the war, nearby Thiepval Wood can be visited on a guided tour (donation requested) at 11am and/or 3pm; call ahead for dates of scheduled group tours.
