President to lead year’s first 1916 commemoration event

The first State ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising will be held this afternoon at Dublin Castle.

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny will lead a flag-raising ceremony to mark the beginning of the centenary year.

This evening, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys will host a special Peace Proms concert in Convention Centre Dublin, featuring more than 500 young performers from across the island.

Throughout 2016, more than 40 State ceremonial events will be held as part of the Ireland 2016 centenary programme, as well a growing list of more than 4,000 events nationwide, including 2,000 community-led initiatives and more than 1,000 international events being held mostly at Irish embassies.

The flag-raising ceremony in the Upper Yard of Dublin Castle will include the reading by the Defence Forces of the roll of honour of the volunteers who lost their lives during the Rising, and the raising of three flags flown on O’Connell Street during Easter Week 1916. The event is open to the public, with music to be provided by a Defence Forces band and RTÉ Cór na nÓg.