The Taoiseach and Tánaiste will lead a ceremony of reconciliation and remembrance of all those who lost their lives in the Irish Civil War. 

The ceremony will take place in the Garden of Remembrance at noon to mark 100 years since the end of the Civil War in 1923.  

Members of the Government, the Oireachtas and Council of State will be in attendance, along with relatives of those directly impacted by the Civil War. 

Minister for State Jack Chambers many families have “deeply personal links to the Civil War and have a connection to that time”.  

“So it's really important that people can engage with that period and that we have a ceremony of reconciliation, reflection and remembrance for all those who lost their lives in the Irish Civil War," he said. 

21/8/2022 The Beal na Blath 100 Year Commemoration for the death of Michael Collins. The ceremony commemorated events of 100 years ago on Monday, 22 August, when the Civil War was almost two months old.The anti-Treaty IRA had been pushed out of cities and towns by the pro-Treaty National Army, led by Commander-in-Chief Michael Collins.The IRA Chief of Staff Liam Lynch ordered a return to the guerilla war tactics of the War of Independence, with a heavy emphasis on ambushes of Free State troops and convoys. Photo shows Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar speaking while members of the Irish Defence Forces (Soldiers) stand by at the historic event. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The centenary will include a variety of musical and spoken-word performances, involving the Combined Band of the Defence Forces and Cór Linn Youth Choir, as well as solo performers. 

Leo Varadkar and Michael Martin are not expected to deliver speeches at the ceremony today.  

May 24th marked 100 years since the end of the Irish Civil War, which saw the Free State government split into two groups because of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. 

Decade of centenaries

This ceremony marks one of the last events under the Decade of Centenaries, an initiative set up by the the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. 

The programme aims to commemorate Ireland’s journey to independence as well as other centenaries occuring from 2012 to 2023.  

WP75K1 Free State troopers shelling rebels during the Irish Civil War (28 June 1922 - 24 May 1923), a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State. The civil war was waged between two opposing groups, the pro-treaty Provisional Government and the anti-treaty IRA, over the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The forces of the Provisional Government (which became the Free State in December 1922) supported the Treaty, while the Republican opposition saw it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic (which had been proclaimed during the Easter Rising).

Mr Chambers said the programme has informed the Government of how best to run historical ceremonies in the future.  

“There'll be lots of lessons and it will provide a clear input into the future of how we run commemorations and how we engage with Irish history over the coming period of years,” he said.  

Upcoming centenaries on the programme include Irish poet, writer and Senator W.B. Yeats receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.