Press release
Press release – Arbour Hill Ceremony – Wednesday 4th May
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Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney, T.D. today hosted the annual State Ceremony at Arbour Hill to commemorate the Easter Rising, and the executed leaders of 1916 who are buried in the grounds of the Church of the Sacred Heart.
The President Michael D. Higgins and the Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid a solemn and respectful tribute to those who died for Irish freedom. The commemorative event consisted of a Requiem Mass and a ceremony at the Grave for the 1916 Leaders where the President laid a wreath to commemorate those who died in 1916.
In addition to the President and the Taoiseach, attendance at the ceremony included the Lord Mayor; members of the Government; members of the Oireachtas; the Council of State; the Judiciary; relatives of the leaders and relatives of others who fought in 1916.
Speaking after the event, the Minister for Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney, TD said “Today, we remember those who died for Ireland in 1916 and in particular those 14 executed leaders of 1916 who are buried here at Arbour Hill.”
Welcoming the return to a full-scale event, the Minister added: “While a scaled back commemorative event at Arbour Hill was arranged for the last two years while public health restrictions were in place, I am delighted to welcome a return to the traditional commemoration in the company of the relatives of the executed leaders. I know how much this event means to these families.”
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Note for the Editors:
The annual commemoration at Arbour Hill is the longest-running State ceremony to commemorate the Easter Rising. While the commemoration at Arbour Hill began in 1923, shortly after the end of the Civil War, the first State commemoration event took place in 1924. A commemoration event has been held each year since. Following two years of a holding a scaled back commemoration ceremony at Arbour Hill due to the Covid 19 pandemic, a full-scale event this year will now return this year.
The Annual 1916 Commemoration Ceremony takes place at the Church of the Sacred Heart, the church for the Defence Forces, the site of burial of the executed leaders of 1916 on the first Wednesday on or after 3rd May of each year. The ceremony is hosted by the Minister for Defence and consists of a Requiem Mass and a ceremony at the Grave for the 1916 Leaders. The President will lay a wreath to commemorate those who died in 1916.