The Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sulllivan, and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan, recently launched the programme to commemorate 1916 by presenting children in St Patrick’s NS in Castlebar, with the tricolour flag and a copy of the Proclamation.

Antiques, eco bags and art are just some of Faith Ryan’s tips and must-have buys for the home.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

The natural features of the Killarney National Park are being explored to see how they can be made to act as fire breaks.

The former home of one of the fathers of computer science is among the 28 sites to benefit from government funding for conservation work on heritage buildings.

Local authorities are receiving one million euro in funding towards the commemoration of the 1916 rising.

Relatives of those who died in 1916 have come together to launch their own centenary programme.

The Government has insisted it has not cut its funding towards the proposed €50m event centre for Cork after it appeared that the Department of Arts was set to cut allocation for the long-delayed development by more than half.

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys is to attend the 6th International Famine Commemoration in the US.

"A rotted body politic riven with lies and factions and a sense that debauchery, despotism and tyranny governs all," is how director, Michael Barker-Caven describes the background of The Rape of Lucretia.

A young peregrine falcon believed to have been on one of its first flights was found shot, environmental chiefs have said.

All events between 1912 and 1916 that led to the creation of modern Ireland are being commemorated, according to the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys.

The Coalition has been accused of engaging in "Fianna Fáil-style politics of cronyism" by "stacking" State boards with party supporters or associates.

A special celebration in memory of William Butler Yeats is planned for next year.

Martin O’ Neill has backed Roberto Martinez’ assertion that Seamus Coleman will not be leaving Everton, after reports suggested the Irish full-back could be bound for Old Trafford.

Two men charged with cutting turf in a Co Kerry bog have launched a High Court action to stop their prosecution.

Fianna Fáil is accusing the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht of taking a "hands-off" approach to the resignations at Limerick City of Culture.

The Clerys department store marked its renovation by revealing detail on what it cost to get back in business after its last great destruction.

A select group of farmers have enjoyed an €11m government bonanza through implementing measures aimed at conserving the protected hen harriers on their lands.

Ireland has been awarded the "European Diploma of Protected Areas Award" from the Council of Europe for the sustainable management of the Burren in Co Clare.

Minister Jimmy Deenihan will travel to Sydney, Australia to lead the ceremonies for the 2013 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine.

Medieval scenes will be re-enacted as part of a day of celebrations to mark a Co Cork town’s lengthy history.

The public is being urged to take a trip down memory lane to mark the 50th anniversary of US president John F Kennedy’s visit to Ireland.

Thirteen dolphins were killed after being caught in trawler nets off the west coast, post-mortem examinations have revealed.

Finuge (Kerry) 0-9 Monasterevan (Kildare) 0-5

A €20m investment in the National Gallery of Ireland will provide 300 jobs during the construction phase, it was announced today.

Hundreds of people are attending the funeral of GAA star Paidi O Se in Co Kerry this afternoon.

The Government came in for stinging criticism from inter-county GAA players following news their grants could be cut again in 2013.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan has today announced that the Kerry female red deer has been removed from the open season for hunting.

Thirty thousand jobs could be created in the renewable energy sector if the Government implements a series of radical reforms, experts have claimed.

Just under 1,500 compensation payments have now been made to turf cutters banned from collecting turf on bogs protected under EU rules.

Restoration of the century-old gun-running boat Asgard will allow people to reflect on the complexities of its history, a minister has said.

The Taoiseach says turf cutters will have to observe and adhere to the law of the land.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the start of excavations at Knowth in the Boyne Valley and the OPW has confirmed it hopes to create a virtual tour of its chambers that would allow the public to view the treasures inside.

President Michael D Higgins arrives in New York later today for his first official trip to the US.

An investigation has found that eight out of nine gardaí in the Donegal Gaeltacht could not carry out their duties through Irish.

It could be described as Downton Abbey Irish-style — a glimpse of life in those great houses in wooded estates behind high stone walls.

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will today mark the centenary anniversary of what has been called one of the most important pieces of legislation in Irish history.

Limerick City Gallery of Art launches its new enhanced exhibition spaces this evening, writes Tina O’Sullivan

PRELIMINARY sales data indicates that 2011 is likely to have been a record year for the Kerrygold brand in the US with year-on-year sales up 17% on a constant currency basis.

JIMMY DEENIHAN, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and former Kerry All-Ireland-winning captain, launched his book, My Sporting Life, last night in Cork with the aid of a former opponent, Rebel County dual legend Jimmy Barry-Murphy.

TURF cutters are set to bypass the Government and take their case to the European Commissioner for the Environment in a bid to find a solution to a problem which could cost the state €20,000 a day in fines if it is not resolved.

Inevitably some wit is going to suggest that the EU Birds and Habitats Directives signed into law yesterday by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan is for the birds.