04.05.2023
Archbishop Attends Annual 1916 State Commemoration
Photos courtesy of Óglaigh na hÉireann.
Archbishop Michael Jackson represented the Church of Ireland at the annual State ceremony to commemorate the Easter Rising and the executed leaders of 1916 at Arbour Hill in Dublin yesterday, Wednesday May 3.
Hosted by the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin, the event was attended by President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as well as Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy, members of the Government and the Oireachtas, the Council of State, the Judiciary and relatives of the leaders and others who fought in 1916.
Arbour Hill is the final resting place of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Republic, including Padraig Pearse and James Connolly, as well as other executed 1916 leaders.
Following Requiem Mass in the Church of the Sacred Heart, the church for the Defence Forces, a ceremony took place at the Grave for the 1916 Leaders at which Faith Leaders, including Archbishop Jackson, led prayers. President Higgins laid a wreath and led a minute’s silence in memory of those who died in 1916.
The annual commemoration at Arbour Hill is the longest–running State ceremony to commemorate the Easter Rising. It is 100 years since the commemoration at Arbour Hill began in 1923, shortly after the end of the Civil War, and the first State commemoration event took place in 1924.
A commemoration event has been held each year since, including two years of scaled back ceremonies at Arbour Hill due to the COVID–19 pandemic. The commemorations resumed in full last year.
