As part of worldwide 1916 commemorations, the “Shadow of a Gunman” will reach all the way to Abu Dhabi.
By Irish Echo Staff
The Irish government intends to take the news of the centenary of the 1916 Rising to the four corners of the globe.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan, today announced details of a number of new events being organized by Ireland’s worldwide embassy network to mark the centenary.
A couple of the thus far announced events will take place in the U.S.
“A wide range of events remembering 1916 and highlighting Ireland’s history, arts and culture in the century since will take place all around the globe. From Buenos Aires to Paris, and from Tokyo to New York,” said Minister Flanagan.
“I invite Ireland’s global friends and family to come together to remember the events of a hundred years ago, and, importantly, to celebrate the progress we have made over the last century and to look forward,” Flanagan said.
According to a Department of Foreign Affairs release, “hundreds of events will take place in dozens of cities as part of the Global and Diaspora strand of the overall Ireland 2016 Commemorative Programme, in partnership with many organizations, including Culture Ireland.”
Added Minister Flanagan: “This will be an important opportunity to remember a key moment in Irish history and to remember it with Ireland’s citizens, friends and international partners around the world.
“The Easter Rising took place in an international context, indeed it was headline news in the New York Times for days after Easter 1916, and it is fitting that the commemorations will reach beyond our shores and bring Ireland’s story to a whole new audience in a new way.”
“Our missions around the world, together with their partners have produced interesting and diverse programs, many with strong local resonances such as a Helsinki conference which will explore historic parallels between Ireland and Finland, which will mark a century of independence in 2017.
“In Tokyo, a conference will examine the 1916 Rising with an Asian perspective while ‘The Plough and the Stars’ will be staged in Abu Dhabi. I know these events will prompt more visitors to come explore Ireland in the coming years.”
According to the release, the latest program highlights being announced include:
• A three-month program of cultural events in Buenos Aires highlighting the events of 1916 and exploring the links that existed then and today between Ireland and Argentina, which is home to Ireland’s largest Spanish speaking diaspora.
• A Tokyo conference with the theme of “The 1916 Rising with an Asian Perspective.”
• A digitization project in Melbourne, preserving the scrapbooks of Irish scholar and Melbourne doctor, Nicholas O’Donnell, who tracked the reporting of the Rising in the Australian press.
• An exhibition and seminar on the life and work of Roger Casement in Brasilia and Manaus in the Amazon Region of Brazil where Casement worked.
• Images from the Sean Sexton collection, featuring photographs of the Easter Rising, will be on display in the Photographer’s Gallery in central London.
• A production of the “Shadow of a Gunman” by Sean O’Casey in Abu Dhabi, alongside a program of Irish music, poetry and dance.
• The Ireland 100 three week festival of Irish Arts and Culture in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
• A community commemorative event in Pier A in New York reflecting Irish and Irish American culture.
• “Wherever Green is Worn,” a musical and narrative performance remembering the Easter Rising through the medium of songs from before, during and after the 1916 Rising will take place in Sydney.
• A conference on Ireland in 1916 and the parallels between Ireland and Finland, which will mark a century of independence from 1917, taking place in Helsinki.
Details of the Ireland 2016: Global and Diaspora Programme are available at www.ireland.ie, or www.dfa.ie.
