DUBLIN’S O’CONNELL Street will be taken back a century on Easter Monday, as a massive outdoor history event kicks off the build up to the 1916 centenary celebrations.
The Road to The Rising event will see the capital’s main thoroughfare, a major site for battles in 1916, pedestrianised between 11am and 5pm on the bank holiday.
In place of cars will be restored Dublin trams, 100 actors in period dress, a vintage carousel and a hot air balloon.
The event is mostly free, though €7.50 tickets will be required to attend screenings of the film Insurrection at the Liberty Hall theatre and an immersive theatre project at the GPO.
RTÉ will broadcast throughout the day, with a special edition of The History Show being broadcast live, Arena broadcasting from 3pm to 5pm, and other shows being recorded for broadcast at later dates.
Talks and lectures will take place in a number of venues along the street, with organisers saying it will be “a family day out”.
The full schedule of events is available here.
Organisers say that the event is a partnership between RTÉ, Dublin City Council, the Department of Arts and An Post.
They say that the event is being held to show Irish people that the Rising “did not happen in a bubble”.
“We thought it would be a good idea to show people how the Rising happened. We want families to come in to the city and see how people lived.
“It’s incredibly important to realise these guys didn’t just wake up and decide to do this. We want people to ask “why did these men and women decide to do this?”.
“People might come away with an understanding of the social lives of the people involved, but if they have a wider appetite to learn about it, that’s great.”
Getting in character
RTÉ stars Sean Rocks, Rick O’Shea, David McCullagh, Keelin Shanley and Miriam O’Callaghan were in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin and got into character.
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