Athenry takes centre stage for 1916 celebrations

The town of Athenry will take centre stage in the State’s commemoration of 1916, when on Easter Monday, it hosts a special State ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

Athenry has been chosen as one of only four locations, outside of Dublin, to host a State ceremony, with more than 5,000 people expected to join the relatives of the Galway men and women of 1916, for the synchronized wreath-laying.

This special day in the history of the county, begins at 9.30 am with a tree planting ceremony in the Park, with seven oak trees being planted by the Cathaoirleach and members of Galway County Council.

The formal event opens at 11.20 am with Aeraíocht – a presentation and celebration of the cultural traditions of the county in music, song, dance and poetry, with a range of world-class musicians and dancers taking to the stage.

The formal State ceremony begins with Paráid: Dathanna Phobail na Gaillimhe, a spectacular parade of the colours of the communities of the county, carried by the U-16 Captains of the GAA clubs and led by St. Patrick’s Band.

The parade commences at the ‘Back Lawn’ (Kenny Park) where Liam Mellows and the leaders of the Galway Volunteers, trained and drilled the Volunteers and will travel through the town centre before converging on the Park for the formal State ceremony.

The Defence Forces will play a prominent role, with officers reading the Proclamation, playing the Piper’s Lament, the Last Post and raising the National Flag.  The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O Sullivan T.D. will lay the wreath on behalf of the State at 1.15 pm.

The wreath-laying ceremony will be part of a series of synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies, with wreaths also being laid at significant sites in Dublin, Meath, Cork, and Wexford simultaneously at precisely 1.15 p.m. – the time that the Rising’s very first shots rang out.  An Air Corps Fly Past will also mark the event .

For more on this story, see the Connacht Tribune.