Easter Rising events could rival Gathering, Taoiseach says

The events surrounding the Easter Rising commemorations next year have the potential to be as popular as the Gathering, the Taoiseach has said.

Details of 1,800 events nationally were announced at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham as part of the community programme for each of the 31 local authorities in Ireland.

Representatives from all 31 authorities attended the unveiling ceremony.

Enda Kenny said fears that there would not be a strong response to a call for ideas at a local level to commemorate the Rising had proved to be unfounded. He said every community in Ireland felt a connection with the Rising.

“There are so many thousands of curious connections that have come to light,” he said. “I’m glad to see so many young people and children involved in their own way.”

The Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly, also suggested that the coming commemorations across the country will be similar to the Gathering of 2013. "You can feel it in the warmth of the people," he said.

Best decision

The event was also attended by Tánaiste Joan Burton, who praised the number of events remembering the women involved in the Rising, particularly Dr Kathleen Lynn, who was the doctor who attended to injured men from the Irish Citizen Army during Easter week.

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, said the best decision she made was to allocate a quarter of the budget for the Rising commemorations to local authorities to organise events.

Of the 1,800 events, 161 events fall into the State and local ceremonial strand, 540 are on historical reflection, 152 are on An Teanga Bheo – the Living Language, 213 for youth and imagination, 350 on cultural expression, 302 on community participation, and 78 for global and diaspora with other events still being planned.