An event to mark the start of the State Ceremonial Programme in 2016 will take place in Dublin Castle this Friday.
The New Year’s Day ceremony will be attended by the President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Lord Mayor Críona Ní Dhálaigh, Tánaiste Joan Burton and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys. It will comprise two key elements – the reading by the Defence Forces of the Roll of Honour of those volunteers who lost their lives during the 1916 Rising, followed by a flag raising ceremony.
This will involve the raising of the three flags which were flown on O’Connell Street in Easter 1916 – the Irish Citizens Army Flag, which was flown from the Imperial Hotel on O’Connell Street; the Irish Republican Flag and the National Flag, which were both flown from the GPO .
The ceremony will conclude with the playing of the National Anthem. Music will be provided by the Military Band and the RTÉ Cór na nÓg choir. Invited guests will include representatives of the State and relatives of those who lost their lives in the 1916 Rising.
The ceremony, which will last approximately 40 minutes, will be held outdoors in the Upper Castle Yard and commences at 1pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend the event and should access the Castle via the Palace Street Gate and should be in place not later than 12.15pm.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.