Centenary of the Easter Rising Enda Kenny laid wreaths at the Stone Breakers' Yard in Kilmainham Gaol, scene of the 1916 executions. Before this occurred, the Flag of Ireland was lowered to half mast in front of Defence Forces personnel and relatives of the dead. Afterwards, there was a minute's silence, the "Piper’s Lament" and the "Last Post" were played, then Army captain Glen Harmon held aloft a shining sword to serve as an introduction to the national anthem. Tánaiste Joan Burton, defence minister Simon Coveney, justice minister Frances Fitzgerald, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Martin McGuinness were also present. That evening, RTÉ broadcast
Easter Rising Parliament on 14 December 1918, which resulted in a landslide victory for Sinn Féin, winning 73 seats out of 105, whose MPs gathered in Dublin on 21 January 1919 to form Dáil Éireann and adopt the Declaration of Independence. Shortly after the Easter Rising, poet Francis Ledwidge wrote ""O’Connell Street"" and ""Lament for the Poets of 1916"", which both describe his sense of loss and an expression of holding the same "dreams", as the Easter Rising's Irish Republicans. He would also go on to write "lament for Thomas MacDonagh" for his fallen friend and fellow Irish Volunteer. A few months