Irish War of Independence they would maintain their organisation until Home Rule had been granted. Within this Volunteer movement, another faction, led by the separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood, began to prepare for a revolt against British rule in Ireland. The plan for revolt was realised in the Easter Rising of 1916, in which the Volunteers launched an insurrection whose aim was to end British rule. The insurgents issued the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, proclaiming Ireland's independence as a republic. The Rising, in which over four hundred people died, was almost exclusively confined to Dublin and was put down within a week, but the
Centenary of the Easter Rising Taoiseach Enda Kenny laid a wreath. Silver and gold commemorative coins to mark the centenary, designed by Michael Guilfoyle, went on sale on Monday 4 April. They were only made available to collectors, and did not go into general circulation. On Sunday 24 April, events occurred to mark the centenary date of the start of the Rising. President Higgins, Taoiseach Kenny, members of the Government, Oireachtas and judiciary attended a ceremony at Arbour Hill, where a requiem Mass was overseen by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. The graveside of the executed leaders hosted an interfaith ceremony and