Catherine Connolly lays wreath at Arbour Hill Commemoration

By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association

Catherine Connolly has laid a wreath at the annual 1916 Arbour Hill Commemoration for the first time as President.

The event involves a blessing of the grave where 14 leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were buried after their executions by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol.

This year’s solemn ceremony was attended by President Connolly, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and Defence Minister Helen McEntee.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan was among other Cabinet ministers in attendance, along with Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly.

Connolly inspected a guard of honour before mass at the Church of the Most Sacred Heart, where she met Army Chaplain Fr Paul Murphy.

Fr Murphy received a distinguished service medal this year for “personifying the Defence Forces’ core values in the aftermath” of an attack at Renmore Barracks in which he was stabbed in 2024.

Following the mass, the grave of the leaders was blessed by Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Paul Dempsey, and representatives of different faiths offered prayers and reflective remarks.

The President then laid a wreath which was followed by a minute’s silence.

A Defence Forces band played the national anthem and the Irish tricolour was raised to full mast at the closing of the ceremony.

The military cemetery at Arbour Hill holds the remains of the 14 executed leaders of the 1916 Rising, including Proclamation signatories Patrick Pearse and James Connolly.

They were buried in a pit and covered with quicklime – but their resting place has since been transformed into a national memorial.