Ireland 1916 Centenary Programme

A number of initiatives and programmes are planned to commemorate Ireland in 2016 and imagine Ireland in the future. Schools are invited to participate in the programme.

Full details available in the DES Circular (0047/2016) (PDF)

Education Programme brochure - Cuimhnigh, Smaoinigh, Samhlaigh

Competitions for Students

The Department of Education and Skills is partnering with a number of institutions to organise competitions for Primary and Post-Primary students.

Information on the following competitions will be available on this page as they are launched:

• Ireland 2016 All-island Schools History Competition
• Ireland 2016 All-island Schools Drama Competition
• Ireland 2016 All-island Song Competition
• Ireland 2016 All-island Art Competition (Competition now closed. Due to ongoing building work at the National Gallery of Ireland, it is now likely that the exhibition of winning entries will not be possible until early 2017.)
• Ireland 2016 Poetry Competition Winner Róisín Finnegan (Holy Faith, Clontarf)
• Ireland 2016 Film Awards (FÍS)
  
  

The Abbey Theatre in Your Locality

As part of the Ireland Schools 2016 programme the Abbey Theatre, in association with the Department of Education and Skills, will present Me, Mollser; a specially commissioned monologue play to introduce The Plough and the Stars by Sean O’Casey to a younger audience, telling the story of the Easter Rising 1916. The topics covered embrace Drama, SESE History, English and SPHE curriculums.

The Abbey Theatre will stage performances of the play for primary schools at venues around the country between January and March 2016.

More information about the play and how to pre-book

Reliable Source Material

The Dictionary of Irish Biography is the most comprehensive and authoritative biographical dictionary yet published for Ireland and is available free in all schools (through the Schools Broadband Network). This is an outstanding source of information on all personalities associated with 1916. Read more about the service.
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Century Ireland has been delivering news and analysis of events in Ireland and beyond from 100 years ago. With historical news reportage supported by a wealth of archival, visual, film and contextual content, Century Ireland is designed to track the decade of centenaries week by week, month by month and year by year. In doing so, it not only charts the major landmark historical developments, but the everyday realities of Irish life, encompassing issues of education, economy, culture, housing, health, leisure, sport and more.

For the centenary of the 1916 Rising, Century Ireland will produce an online exhibition featuring newly-written thematic essays, articles and films on the principal personalities and sites of 1916, archival galleries, audio and film contextual content, TV news reports on commemorative activities and specially-prepared educational resources, including lesson plans, produced by the national cultural institutions and organised around the ‘Objects of 1916’.
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