Easter Rising marked by President and Taoiseach with military ceremony at the GPO

ireland
Easter Rising Marked By President And Taoiseach With Military Ceremony At The Gpo
President Michael D Higgins led the commemorations outside the GPO in Dublin. Photo: PA Images
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By Cate McCurry, PA

The 1916 Rising, which prompted a series of events leading to Irish independence, has been marked in Dublin.

President Michael D Higgins led the commemorations of the Easter Rising in a military ceremony outside the GPO on O’Connell Street in the capital, one of the main sites of the rebellion against British rule in 1916.

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It was the first public event to mark the uprising since the beginning of the pandemic.

Mr Higgins laid a wreath during the ceremony, which began at midday on Sunday.

1916 Easter Rising commemoration
Commandant Daire Roache reads the Proclamation during the ceremony (Niall Carson/PA)

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Defence Simon Coveney also attended the event as well as Defence Forces members, a brass band, and representatives of the Air Corps and the Naval Service.

The commemoration involved prayers of remembrance, and the Proclamation was read by Commandant Daire Roache, from Ballina, Co Mayo.

The Irish flag was lowered to half-mast during the ceremony and Private Vincent Murray, of the 27th Infantry Battalion, played a lament outside the GPO.

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1916 Easter Rising commemoration
Minister for Defence Simon Coveney during the ceremony (Niall Carson/PA)

Relatives of former Irish presidents and family members of the 1916 signatories were also in attendance.

The planned flypast by the Irish Air Corps was cancelled due to the weather.

Meanwhile, in Belfast, huge crowds are expected to take part in Easter commemorations to mark 106 years since the 1916 Rising.

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Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is to address the National Graves Association commemoration in Milltown Cemetery on Sunday afternoon.

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