1916 centenary plans announced

The Government has unveiled an extensive programme of remembrance and reconciliation for the centenary commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising and associated events.

In November, draft plans had received a poor reception, including from relatives of those who fought in the rising.
The ‘Ireland 2016’ programme, which will incorporate State commemorations, educational initiatives, cultural and community events, an all-island dimension, and will include the diaspora, has been received more positively.
The plans will run from an initial re-enactment of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa’s funeral on 1 August this year until 3 August 2016 when there will be a commemoration of Roger Casement’s execution.

15 March has been designated as ‘Proclamation Day’ and each school will receive a new tricolour and a copy of the Proclamation. A new leaving certificate subject, politics and society, will be trialled from September 2016. All major academic institutions are expected to participate in an all-island conference to debate the Rising and its significance.

Flagship events will take place over Easter weekend (26-28 March), nearly a month before the actual anniversary of the Rising which took place between 24 and 29 April. These will include a State reception for an anticipated 5,000 relatives, a major parade from Dublin Castle to Parnell Square via O’Connell Street on Easter Sunday, and a wreath-laying ceremony the following day.

In addition, 16 commemorative stamps will be produced, alongside specially commissioned coins, a three-part television documentary and a feature-length movie.While there will be no royal presence, the British Ambassador will participate in a commemorative event for soldiers killed during the rising (many of whom were Irish). Likewise, An Garda Síochána will stage a commemorative exhibition about members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police who died.