2016 Centenary Ireland’s Easter Rising

It’s a great time for fans of Yeats to plan a visit to Ireland as 2016 marks the centenary of Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising, a key moment on Ireland’s path to independence. Programs are planned throughout the year in seven areas: State Ceremonial; Historical Reflection; An Teanga Bheo (The Living Language(; Youth and Imagination; Cultural Expression; Community Participation; and Global and Diaspora. In addition, the government is “providing enhanced visitor experiences and access to important locations related to the Rising or to events and people of that time,” such as the GPO Interpretative Center, Richmond Barracks,  National Concert Hall, Military Archives and more. The website has a PDF download of the events planned as well as regular updates online.

The Poetry Foundation has a full entry on William Butler Yeats’ “Easter, 1916” in which Ange Mlinko explores “how the conflict of a nation was camptuerd by a plitically reluctant poet.”