1916, Ireland remembers



"Now I know it's hard for you my love to ever understand  
The love I shared for these brave men, the love for my dear land 

 But when glory called me to his side down in the GPO 

 I had to leave my own sick bed, to him I had to go" - Grace, Sean and Frank O' Meara.


As is often the case when you're living as an expat there are some days you'd give anything to be back home. This weekend has been one of those times for me, not just because it's Easter but because it's the one hundred year anniversary of the 1916 rising. There is more than enough information and expertly worded articles on the event and its participants currently on the greater internet.

I have the utmost respect for the brave men and women of Ireland who sacrificed their lives for their country 100 years ago during Easter week. Their armed uprising had mixed results and created reverberating societal and political implications still felt today. However, those who did stand against the vast might of the British Empire were fundamental in the future creation of the long fought for Irish republic free from foreign rule.

As a proud Irishman, I felt myself having to almost hold back the tears watching the below videos yesterday as a mixture of pride, homesickness and appreciation welled up inside me. The first is a reenactment of the original reading out of the 1916 proclamation and the second is the playing of the national anthem as the Irish flag was raised above the General Post Office (a building that played a pivotal and iconic role in the rising).


Videos courtesy of @rtenews.


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