1916 Centenary Commemorative Medal commemorations programme. The medal is based on the 1916 Medal which was awarded to those who rendered recognised military service during the week of 23 April 1916. The project to deliver a National Flag to all primary schools in the Republic of Ireland was conducted between September 2015 and March 2016 and involved 10,000 Defence Forces personnel visiting 3,200 schools and presenting them with a handmade National Flag and a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The Easter Rising centenary parade at the General Post Office, Dublin (GPO) included 2,800 members of the Defence Forces and a display
History of Ireland (1801–1923) with militant republicanism, particularly Irish-American republicanism. It was from the former Irish Volunteer ranks that the Irish Republican Brotherhood organized an armed rebellion in 1916. Because of divisions among the Volunteer leadership, only a small part of their numbers was mobilized. Indeed, Eoin MacNeill, the Volunteer commander, countermanded orders to units to begin the insurrection. Nevertheless, at Easter 1916, a small band of 1500 republican rebels (Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army) staged a rebellion, called the "Easter Rising" in Dublin, under Padraig Pearse and James Connolly. The Rising was put down after a week's fighting. Initially their acts were widely