DUBLIN has marked the 110th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising with the traditional State ceremony on O’Connell Street, centred on the General Post Office where the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was first read.
The commemoration included a full Defence Forces parade, a formal reading of the Proclamation, and a wreath-laying by President Catherine Connolly. Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Simon Harris, Minister for Defence Helen McEntee, Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill were among the dignitaries who attended the event in Dublin.
Captain Eva Houlihan from the Irish Defences Forces reading from the Proclamation (picture Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie)A minute’s silence was observed as the national flag was lowered and raised, followed by the national anthem and an Air Corps flypast.
At a separate commemoration at Arbour Hill Cemetery, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that while peace has been secured since the Good Friday Agreement, the next chapter should focus on reunification. She said the coming decade could see Irish unity decided by referendums north and south, urging political leadership to move beyond discussion to action.
Commemorations took place across the island, with a major event staged in Belfast. Thousands of people turned out for a parade in the west of the city.