Centenary of the Easter Rising commemorations marking the occasion began on Easter Eve (26 March), as President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins laid a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin. This was preceded by traditional Irish song "The Parting Glass" being performed by the Island of Ireland Peace Choir and succeeded by a minute's silence. Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Acting Tánaiste Joan Burton were also present. Relatives of the dead were there too and were only permitted to lay their own wreaths when President Higgins was done. Later that day, President Higgins gave a keynote address at a ceremony in the Royal
Madeleine ffrench-Mullen Madeleine ffrench-Mullen Madeleine ffrench-Mullen (30 December 1880 – 26 May 1944) was an Irish revolutionary and labour activist who took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. ffrench-Mullen was a member of the radical nationalist women's organisation . In 1913 during the Dublin Lock-out, she worked in the soup kitchen in Liberty Hall. She subsequently joined the Irish Citizen Army (ICA). In the Easter Rising she worked in a first aid tent. She was arrested following the Rising but released the following month. She joined Sinn Féin and was elected to Rathmines District Council in 1920. Madeleine ffrench-Mullen