Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2013
144. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a detailed progress report on events planned for the 1916 centenary celebrations; the major events that are planned for County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47451/13]
View answerI am committed to working with all interested partners to ensure that the centenary commemorative programme is comprehensive, authentic and inclusive. The Easter Rising and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic will be at the centre of the programme. In keeping with the development of an authentic programme, I anticipate that all the principal sites relating to the Rising and ensuing events will feature in the commemorations. I am working with the Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations and partners in Government to bring forward projects such as the online release of the Military Service Pensions Archive, which will provide unprecedented public access to primary source material about the Rising.
A number of other special decade of centenary projects are in preparation, which will support research and inform discussion as we approach the centenary of the Rising in 2016. It is my belief that the Rising can best be commemorated by placing it in the broader cultural and historical context. In this regard, we have brought forward projects such as the Century Ireland initiative, in association with RTÉ and Boston College, which is already charting the lives of the participants in the Rising from their first appearances in public life through to the Rising itself.
The centenary of the founding of the Irish Volunteers will be commemorated this month. On this point, I met a number of local historians on Monday 2 September 2013 at the County Library in Tralee to explore the possibility of arranging a lecture to commemorate the founding of the Volunteers. It was decided to arrange a lecture to take place on Thursday 28 November at the County Library in Tralee.
Initiatives in 2014 will include the commemoration of the founding of the Irish Citizens' Army and Cumann na mBan, and special commemorative arrangements are being prepared for these organisations. For the comprehensive exploration of Irish life in the revolutionary period, I am keen that the programme would pay special attention to the economic and social conditions of the time. I am very grateful for the support of the Women's' History Association of Ireland in developing the arrangements for the centenary of Cumann na mBan and the wider issues of women in society at the time, including the campaign for electoral reform.
The arrangements to be brought forward for Easter 2016 throughout the country are under development at this time. Clearly, the centenary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic will be a most important anniversary and I anticipate that the special arrangements for the occasion will be of interest internationally too. I would welcome the Deputy's views on the commemoration of the Rising and would be happy to discuss any proposals he may have.
