Pictured: Actors dressed in period costume Seána Kerslake and James Barry.
NewsFour attended the launch for Dublin City Council Public Libraries’ 1916/2016 Centenary Programme ‘Dublin Remembers 1916’ on Wednesday 13th January in Pearse Street Library. ‘Citizens In Conflict: Dublin 1916’ was the inaugural exhibition on the first night, as the DCC invited Dubliners to further explore the events that shook the ground of our fair city 100 years ago.
‘Dublin Remembers 1916’ presents a series of lectures, talks by expert historians, exhibitions and conferences in Dublin libraries, City Hall, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and other venues in the city. An tArdmhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh launched the programme on January 12th at Dublin City Library.
“The most important thing about remembering 1916 is that we have to ensure that communities are at the heart of the commemorations,” said An tArdmhÈara. “ I am delighted that Dublin City Council will commemorate the 1916 Rising with a comprehensive programme of events and exhibitions, including a scheme of community grants under which 193 groups across the City have been supported in organising commemorative events in their area. I welcome this community participation and encourage Dubliners and visitors to engage with the history of this pivotal event in our history.”
A substantial audience turned out in force to the January 13th launch. The evening featured actors in period costume re-enacting eye-witness accounts Easter Rising events and also a wall display ‘ In Memoriam; Civilian Deaths 1916’ which lists the 257 civilians who died as a result of the 1916 Rising, showing their names and ages in sequence for the first time.
The exhibition also included a recreation of a part of O’Connell Street with Nelson’s Pillar as a centrepiece, video and audio footage from the Imperial War Museum and the Dublin Fire Brigade logbook detailing all of the call-outs over the period of the Rising.
Speaking at the launch, Dublin City Librarian Margaret Hayes said that the programme focused primarily on “the social, economic and cultural context of 1916. The programme is extensive, diverse and inclusive, with a strong cultural component. Tonight’s exhibition has a very strong focus, linking Pearse Street and the garrisons and Boland’s Mill. The programme is arranged chronologically within the Seven Strands.”
Pictured Above: James Barry, Seána Kerslake, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin Críona Ní Dhálaigh take a look at the fire brigade logbook from the Rising.
The Seven Programme Strands that Margaret referred to are: State and Local Ceremonial, Historical Reflection, The Living Language, Youth and Imagination, Cultural Expression, Community Participation and Global and Diaspora.
Banners and flags commemorating the Rising will be flown on flagpoles and lamp posts throughout the city all year long. There will be commemorative plaques unveiled at various former garrison locations all around Dublin, with the city recognising the important roles these buildings played in the events of 1916.
The redeveloped Richmond Barracks, which opens on May 2nd, will be used as an exhibition centre, a visitor centre and a community resource. All the cultural services of Dublin City Council, including Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, the Arts Office, the Heritage Office, the Libraries and Archives are contributing to the commemorations programme.
Copies of the ‘Dublin Remembers 1916’ programme can currently be found from Dublin City Council libraries, galleries and area offices, and it acts as a comprehensive guide to Dublin City Council’s timetable for events commemorating the 100th year of one of the most pivotal episodes in Irish history.
By Craig Kinsella
