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Ireland marks centenary of 1916 Easter Uprising

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By Euronews
Ireland marks centenary of 1916 Easter Uprising

Ireland has been commemorating the centenary of the 1916 Easter Uprising.

While the revolt against British rule failed – it was quashed within days and its leaders were executed – it galvanised the Irish independence movement and paved the way for the creation of the Irish Republic.

On Saturday, Irish President Michael Higgins laid a wreath during a remembrance ceremony in Dublin and met relatives dozens of the people who died. Prime Minister Enda Kenny and Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton also took part in the ceremony.

Higgins said it was right to honour the centenary, rejecting the suggestion by some that doing so could fuel dissident Republican violence.

“I don’t agree with this at all (that celebrating the Easter Rising centenary could encourage Republican violence). The most useless thing, I think, is to affect some kind of amnesia. Amnesia wouldn’t work,” Higgins said.

“You really have to, if you’re involved in the ethics of memory, you have to transact it. So therefore you recognise it and you look at the complexity. And that’s when you must be open to the different narratives that must be.”