Speech by the Taoiseach at the launch of Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme

It is particularly fitting that we are launching the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme in Collins Barracks, nestled as it is between Arbour Hill and the Croppies Acre, the resting places of the known and the unknown patriots, linked together by a common sense of nationhood.

When we launched the themes for Ireland 2016 last November, I noted that the period 1912 – 1922 was the single most important decade in modern Irish History – the one that laid the foundation of two States and radically altered the relationship between the island of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Within that epoch, there was one pivotal moment when a seed was sown and the old order changed forever.

That moment was Easter 1916.

From the very early days of this State, we have chosen to commemorate this time as marking the birth of our sovereign Nation.

There is no doubt that the narrative of 1916 is an intrinsic part of our DNA as a State. It is our inheritance. It is our story.

And it is a story that deserves to be told unambiguously and with pride.

That is why it is the centrepiece of our Decade of Commemorations.

Last year we committed to devise an inclusive and comprehensive programme that in 2016 will allow Ireland to: Remember, Reconcile, Imagine, Present and Celebrate.

This evening, the launch of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme puts in place a detailed plan that will allow us to do that and to honour those who gave their lives, so that the dream of self-determination could become a reality.

Through the seven strands of this Programme we will come together as citizens to celebrate and have pride in Ireland’s independence.

We will mark 1916 as the moment when Irish nationalism joined forces with a revolutionary cultural and language movement to forge an irresistible movement towards self-determination.

We will honour the courage, dignity and ideals that characterised the events and people of 1916 – and we will also remember and reflect on the full richness of our history, and the diversity of people and events that are part of what we are today.

As a State we will do this in a way that is respectful and inclusive.

2016 will belong to everyone on this island and to our friends and families overseas – regardless of political or family background, or personal interpretation of our modern history.

This is a year for all of the Irish people.

It is our moment – a moment for reflection, for remembrance, for renewal.

The 1916 signatories of the Proclamation may have been a small body of individuals, but they were giants in their outlook, determination, courage and perspective.

They, and the wider 1916 leadership, proclaimed the Republic to be one that “guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally”.

100 years on we are a democracy that has stood the test of time. We have experienced violence, grief and tragedy on our island. We have weathered economic storms that caused untold damage to our communities.

We have survived each crisis, and emerged ever stronger.

We have worked to build peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and continue to do so in the context of the Good Friday Agreement.

We will seek to imagine the future in ways that strengthen that peace and reconciliation and respect all traditions as envisaged in the ideals of the Proclamation.

The Government is committed to ensuring that 2016 will be a year of rich and diverse activities when the full complexity of the last 100 years on this island can be explored and celebrated. As part of that it is important that we remember all of those who died during the Rising – civilians and children as well as those directly involved.

I have no doubt that for the Irish people to realise their full potential, it was necessary for Ireland to be an independent country.

In 2016, we will celebrate the beginnings of that independence, conscious of the contribution over previous decades of the Irish Parliamentary Party tradition, the Land League, the Gaelic League and many others who influenced the development of modern Ireland.

The importance and symbolism of our national flag will also occupy a central position in this Commemorative Programme.

We will proudly present to ourselves and to the world our achievements as a Republic and show how we took our place ‘among the nations’, expressing our individuality through our own distinctive culture and heritage, in all its diversity.

We will engage with all of our people, in particular our young people, at home and overseas, to challenge our assumptions and to re-imagine our legacy for future generations.

I am particularly proud of the education programme that seeks to involve Ireland’s students through the medium of drama, creative writing, art and film.

And we will use the creativity of our artists and the imagination of all our people to celebrate the idealism of the Proclamation.

We will also have a lasting legacy from these commemorations through the seven flagship capital projects.

The seven strands of this Centenary Programme have been devised with and by a diverse group of individuals and institutions. The Expert Advisory Group on Historians has provided invaluable guidance and input as have the All Party Consultation Group. We have been engaged with the 1916 Relatives as well as across government at national and local level and abroad with our diaspora.

I must stress that this programme is still a developing one. In particular I expect that an equally imaginative programme of local events utilising the energy of local communities and their imagination will be forthcoming.

I look forward to working with all of you to ensure that 2016 is a year for remembering, and to be remembered.