President and Prime Minister lead tributes to leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising

Anniversary is marked by ceremony at Dublin’s General Post Office

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The GPO in 1916 after the Easter Rising

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President Michael D Higgins and Prime Minister Enda Kenny have led the tributes to the men who led the fight for Irish freedom.

The 96th anniversary of the 1916 Rising on Easter Sunday was marked with a series of events across the country.

Recently elected President Higgins and PM Kenny attended the official commemoration at Dublin’s General Post Office, the central scene of the rebellion led by Padraig Pearse.

The President oversaw a ceremony featuring 300 members of the Irish Defence Forces and a number of bands.

The proclamation of independence, first read by Pearse on the steps of the GPO on Easter Sunday in 1916, was read by Captain Shane Keogh.

President Higgins laid a wreath in honor of the rebels who paved the way for Irish independence from British rule.

Fine Gael leader Kenny was joined on the podium by his Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.

Relatives of those who fought in 1916 were in attendance along with senior officers from the Irish Army.
The Irish Air Corps marked the occasion with a fly-past over O’Connell Street.

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