Local programmes and plans for 1916 centenary launched

The 31 Local Authority Programmes for Ireland 2016 represent the outcome of many hundreds of hours of reflection, consultation and discussion involving thousands of people all over Ireland.

The most consistently expressed wish was that 2016 should be a year that belongs to everyone. Equally remarkable was the widely articulated desire that 2016 should be about looking to the future more than looking back.

People of all ages and backgrounds expressed a wish to rekindle the idealism that in 1916 found expression in the desire to be free, to be the authors and carriers of our cultural heritage and to be equal among ourselves and among the nations – in short to create a country worth of the name Republic.

Some of the events planned include: South Dublin and the 1916 Rising Oral History Collection – a collection of recordings made with the descendants of South Dublin people who participated in the Rising, or those with a connection to South Dublin County.

Interviewees include former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and Fr Seán O’Cuiv, grandson of Eamon de Valera. 

At the county library Tallaght, Paths to Freedom: a full-day conference on the many ‘shades of green’ that existed in the run-up to the 1916 Rising, featuring Myles Dungan, travel writer Turtle Bunbury, John O’Keeffe and more.

Speaking at the launch of the County Plans, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “I know that these 31 County Plans for Ireland 2016 represent the outcome of many hundreds of hours of reflection, consultation and discussion involving thousands of people all over Ireland.

“I would like to thank you all for your efforts in ensuring that next year will be a year for all of our communities to remember and a year in which active citizenship is celebrated.

“The story and events of 1916 belongs to all of us regardless of political or family background, or personal interpretation of our modern history.

I am delighted that the local authorities have reached into the heart of the communities you represent to ensure that next year will be a truly inclusive one – where all citizens’ views can be listened to and respected”.