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| Stonebreakers Yard, Kilmainham Gaol |
There will be individual ceremonies to commemorate each execution on the centenary date of the execution and the ceremonies will be attended by a Minister of the Government and relatives of each of the Leaders.
Each ceremony will comprise of a number of elements including the reading of the trial documents relating to the charge against the accused man, the plea that was entered, the verdict of the court and the witness statements provided.
A member of the Capuchin Friars will also attend and deliver a reading from the memoirs of the individual Friar who attended each of the men prior to their execution.
There will also be a wreath laying service with a Military colour party, Military Police wreath bearer and a Piper’s lament.
The dates for the ceremonies are:
Tuesday 3 May: Patrick Pearse, Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh
Wednesday 4 May: Joseph Plunkett, Edward Daly, Michael O’Hanrahan, William Pearse
Thursday 5 May: John MacBride
Sunday 8 May: Con Colbert, Eamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin, Sean Heuston
Thursday 12 May: Seán MacDiarmada, James Connolly
Speaking in advance of the commemorations, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, said: “These ceremonies will be deeply personal occasions for the relatives of those who were executed 100 years ago. Their deaths led to a change in public opinion on the Rising and precipitated a period of political and social unrest in Ireland which could not have been predicted in the run up to the events of Easter 1916. It is my hope that these ceremonies will provide relatives with a solemn and respectful opportunity to remember the lives of their family members.”
Kilmainham Gaol will remain closed to the public until 2pm on each of the dates when the ceremonies are to be held..