Ireland holds Easter Rising commemoration

Ireland on Sunday held a state ceremony to mark the 101st anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, a rebellion against British rule that paved the way for independence.

The state ceremony took place outside the General Post Office on Dublin's bustling O'Connell Street, the building that served as the headquarters of the 1916 rebels.

The ceremony, led by Irish President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, involved the lowering of the Irish tricolour, a reading of the Proclamation, the inspection of an honor guard and laying of a wreath by the president.

The wreath-laying was followed by a minute's silence to remember the hundreds of people who died during the six-day rebellion, among them the 16 leaders who were executed.

The Irish Defense Forces personnel, including a brass band, a pipe band and representatives of the army, the air corps and the naval service, took part in the ceremony, which concluded with an air corps fly past.

The uprising began on April 24, 1916, when over 1,000 militants took over prominent buildings in the city center. Britain sent reinforcements and began shelling the city, and rebels were forced to abandon their headquarters, eventually surrendering on April 29. Thousands were arrested over the uprising, but the response caused outrage and a surge in support for Irish independence.

Within six years, Britain had agreed to the creation of an independent nation, though without the northeastern part of the island, which remains part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. Endit