Published on Saturday31stDecember2016

A year to remember – Minister Humphreys pays tribute to all involved in Ireland’s Centenary Programme

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Arts Minister Heather Humphreys today paid tribute to all of those, across public life and civic society, who have helped make Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme such a success.

More than 1 million people came onto the streets of Dublin over the Easter weekend, in an extraordinary celebration and commemoration. This citizen participation continued throughout 2016 at flag raising ceremonies, schools' Proclamation Day activities and a range of other shared community, historical and cultural events, with over 3,500 events taking place at home and abroad.

Speaking about the significance of the Centenary Programme, Minister Humphreys said:

The experience of this year has reminded us all of the transformative power of culture. In 2016 everyone experienced the immense power of cultural creativity to tell our very different stories, to heal divisions, to bring communities together, and to strengthen our identity.

The true significance of the Centenary Programme is that the people of Ireland took it on and created it for themselves and the legacy of what has been achieved this year will be felt for generations to come.

I would also like to pay tribute to those working for the State, across several Government departments, the Office of Public Works, the Gardaí, our Defence Forces and emergency services, who collaborated and worked so hard to deliver a very impressive list of public events. It was a collective effort which we can all be very proud of.