BUDGET 2016: €50m earmarked for events of 1916 commemoration

Michael Noonan raised the ghosts of 1916 yesterday during his budget speech, citing next year’s centenary of the Easter Rising as a time to reflect on the country’s crises and achievements.

Some €50m is also being set aside to mark the centenary of the Rising.

While Sinn Féin will have the advantage of having the lords mayor of Dublin and Cork leading the marches on Easter Sunday, its move to commemorate the event with an annual public holiday has been blocked by the Government, which opposed legislation that would have made April 24 “Republic Day”.