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Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD, meets with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Theresa Villiers MP

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD met today (Monday 1

st

October, 2012) with the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Theresa Villiers MP.

After their meeting at the Glasnevin Museum today, Minister Deenihan said he was delighted to meet with Ms Villiers on her first visit to Dublin since her recent appointment and that he looked forward to working in partnership with her on the development of the programme of special centenary commemorations for the coming years.

Minister Deenihan commented:

‘The history of the tumultuous decade from 1912 is very much the shared heritage of us all in Britain and Ireland. The centenary anniversary brings a special opportunity for this generation to come together in an exploration of the political, cultural and social history that shaped our modern world.’

‘This is the centenary year of the third Home Rule Bill and the signing of the Ulster Covenant. I very much appreciate that our commemorative initiatives for these historic events have been complemented by events organised in partnership with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and at community level throughout Northern Ireland.

‘Following the timeline of history, the commemorative programme will reflect the progress of the Home Rule legislation and the strengthening campaign of Unionist resistance. The mobilisation and arming of the Ulster Volunteers and the Irish Volunteers will feature strongly alongside the story of the Dublin Lockout next year. The impasse on Home Rule and the descent of Europe into the World War will be addressed in 2014.

‘Discussions today with the Secretary of State included consideration of further partnership and joint initiatives in commemorations, including shared or complementary events. We also discussed co-operation possibilities outside the Centenary commemorative programme, notably the Millennial anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf and the bicentenary of Waterloo.

‘I assured the Secretary of State of the considerable interest of the Government in the celebration of City of Culture in Derry next year. As the inaugural venue to be designated the UK City of Culture, we offer our best wishes for the success of the Festival programme and the future of the scheme.'