Rising ceremony expected to draw 100,000

Easter parade: Final preparations were being made in Dublin yesterday in advance of tomorrow's Easter parade.

More than 100,000 spectators are expected for the ceremony when 2,500 members of the Defence Forces will pass down the main street of the capital.

The two-hour military parade, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising, will begin at Dublin Castle and pass through Dame Street, College Green, Westmoreland Street, O'Connell Street, and Parnell Square, finishing on Western Way.

Comdt Brian Clery, Irish Defence Forces press officer, said up to 100,000 spectators were expected on O'Connell Street alone.

"Being such a historic occasion and the first time in many years that such a thing has taken place, we're expecting large numbers," he said.

"From calls I've received to my own office, there are people planning to travel from far and wide around the country to see the parade."

Dublin City Council sealed all litter bins along the route of the parade yesterday on the advice of the Garda, and road works on O'Connell Street have also been secured.

Some 900 invited guests will observe the parade from the reviewing stands in front of the GPO. About half of those will be representatives of the families of volunteers who died in 1916.

Their invitations require them to be seated by 11.30am and they will be provided with parking in Seán MacDermott Street.

The guests will attend a lunch in the Gresham Hotel after the parade and have also been invited to a reception with President Mary McAleese in the State Apartments at Dublin Castle on Sunday evening.

At 11.30am, the parade will leave Dublin Castle and then pause when it reaches Westmoreland Street.

A 100-man guard of honour will be posted outside the GPO from the Dublin 65th Reserve Infantry Battalion.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is expected to arrive at the GPO at 11.50am. Mrs McAleese will arrive shortly before noon with her military escort, drawn from the 2nd Cavalry Squadron, Cathal Brugha Barracks, and she will inspect the guard of honour.

The commemoration ceremony will start at noon with the lowering of the national flag to half-mast.

The Army No 1 Band will play Mise Éire and the President will lay a commemorative wreath. The last post will sound and a minute's silence will be observed for the 1,200 people who were killed or injured in the Rising.

The National Anthem will then be played, the flag returned to full mast and the parade will resume.

Taking part will be representatives from the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps, as well as members of the Irish UN Veterans' Association and the Organisation of Ex-Servicemen and Ex-Servicewomen.

It will include a display of the Defence Forces' newest military equipment, such as the Mowag troop carriers.

Members of the Garda will also participate, representing the force's role in United Nations peacekeeping missions.

Spectators are advised that viewing spots for the ceremony outside the GPO will be restricted but the parade can be viewed from most places along the route.