2016 And Centenary Commemorations

By AM Saturday, January 30, 2016

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The 1916 Societies:

Set Out their Position On 2016 And Centenary Commemorations

With 2016 now here and the Centenary of the Easter Rebellion coming into focus, being now only a matter of weeks away, the 1916 Societies take this opportunity to finalise our plans to mark the heroic sacrifice of the men and women who stood in defence of the Irish Republic that Easter Week in Dublin a century ago.

Over the course of the last two years, our organisation has been in contact and ongoing discussion with Cumann Uaigheann na Laochra Gael, the National Graves Association of Ireland, an autonomous body, like our own, with no affiliation to any political party, organisation or group, whose sole remit is to care for and maintain the graves and monuments to Ireland’s martyred dead entrusted to their responsibilities.

Our focus in regards those discussions has been to help ensure an appropriate event, free from party-political interference, in which all can feel at ease, is in place to mark the Centenary of the Rising, to which republicans can contribute without fear of patriotic endeavour being exploited and abused to advance the interests of others.

The National Graves Association have scheduled a commemorative event for April 24th 2016, the day of the Centenary itself, at the 1916 Monument in the St. Paul’s section of Glasnevin Cemetary. The families of those who fought in the Rising will march from the various garrisons where their relatives fought, before gathering at the GPO on O’Connell Street at the sacred hour of 12 noon, coinciding with the moment when the famous building was commandeered on Easter Monday 1916.

From there they will march out to Glasnevin and the plot at St. Paul’s, leaving at 12.30pm, where Tommy McKearney, a former Volunteer in Óglaigh na hÉireann and widely respected independent republican from Tyrone, will give the main oration, with wreaths laid by relatives of the deceased and a reading of the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic.

We consider this honourable initiative the focal point of our efforts to mark the Centenary and extend our full support to the organisers. Everyone is welcome and we encourage all republicans to attend and give priority to this occasion. We encourage our membership and associates to partake in other initiatives where possible, with an abundance of local commemorations being held across the country over the Easter Weekend, but request due consideration be given to the efforts of the National Graves Association on ‘Republic Day’ itself.