The granite cross was carved in Ireland and now stands next to the Commonwealth war cemetery in Wijtschate. A similar cross was also erected on the Somme (France) at Guillemont. The cross in Wijtschate was inaugurated on Saturday, 21 August 1926, in the presence of numerous Irish dignitaries. It commemorates the part played by the 16th Irish Division in the capture of the village on the opening day of the great Mine Battle, 7 June 1917. At the time, no mention was made of the equally important role played by the 36th Ulster Division in the same battle. Both was put right by the erection of two stone monuments a little further along the road to Kemmel. These ‘Irish plinths’ stand on each side of the road and bear the respective national symbols of the Republic of Ireland (the shamrock) and of Ulster (the red hand). The plinths symbolize the fact that Irish soldiers who held violently different political ideas at home - nationalists versus unionists - were able to join hands and fight together against a common enemy during the war years.
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