Easter, 1916 Easter, 1916 Easter, 1916 is a poem by W. B. Yeats describing the poet's torn emotions regarding the events of the Easter Rising staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916. The uprising was unsuccessful, and most of the Irish republican leaders involved were executed for treason. The poem was written between May and September 1916, but first published in 1921 in the collection "Michael Robartes and the Dancer". Even though a committed nationalist, Yeats usually rejected violence as a means to secure Irish independence, and as a result had strained relations with some of the
Centenary of the Easter Rising Dublin Society and met relatives of the dead, 4,000 of whom attended. President Higgins later attended a 1916 commemoration concert at Liberty Hall Theatre. On the same day, Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Acting Arts Minister Heather Humphreys opened a permanent visitor centre at the General Post Office, scene of rebel occupation in 1916. Also attending was former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, whose father W. T. Cosgrave reopened the building in 1929 after it was put back together. A commemorative service was held at the Unitarian Church on St Stephen's Green, with the names of all Dublin fatalities read aloud. The