1916 centenary: Significance of the past makes us ponder on the future

Commemorations might be about the past, but many of the people attending the 1916 Rising parade were thinking of the future and of their children’s futures.

Families were among the crowd, determined that their little ones would grow up to say: “I was there.”

But there were more immediate concerns for those little ones, such as gobbling Easter eggs, gasping at tanks and asking endless questions, such as: How old is he? (the President); how do they keep a straight face for so long? (the soldiers); why are they speaking Irish, when no one understands it? (the commentary); and have you only got cheese sandwiches? (the mammy).