merrion street

- State Ceremonial event on Sunday will feature Poetry, Music, Drama & Imagery at the Abbey Theatre, staged in partnership with Poetry Ireland
- Minister Flanagan emphasises ‘reconciliation’ aspect of Centenary Programme on 18th Anniversary of Good Friday Agreement

Tomorrow (Sunday, 10th April), the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, will welcome guests who have contributed to peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland, including US Senator George Mitchell, to the Abbey Theatre where the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in partnership with Poetry Ireland is staging a special event on the 18th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Through the media of poetry, music, drama and imagery, Rising to Reconciliation charts the path from the Easter Rising of 1916 to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and the advancement of reconciliation on the island of Ireland over the last century.

Host, Minister Flanagan stated:

“Reconciliation is a core theme of the Ireland 2016 Centenary programme, and this event embodies that approach. We will trace the path from the moment of the Easter Rising of 1916 through the complexity and turbulence of the succeeding century, and we will celebrate the advent of hope, reconciliation and democratic accommodation represented by the Good Friday Agreement.

“I am particularly pleased that for this event to mark the 18th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement we will be joined by so many individuals from across the community who have made a lasting contribution to peace and reconciliation on this island. I am especially delighted that Senator George Mitchell – who played such a unique and catalytic role in the peace process – is able to take part.

“I know that the powerful performances we will see on stage will be an inspiration as we continue the unfinished business of reconciliation on this island and as we continue to honour the vision of the Good Friday Agreement.”

At the historic venue of the Abbey Theatre, a selection of the island’s finest and most respected artists will chart the journey of reconciliation from 1916 to the current day through poetry, music, drama and imagery. Presented in partnership with Poetry Ireland, the event brings together powerful texts by internationally renowned poets, including Eavan Boland, Colette Bryce, Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley and John Hewitt. MC’d by Olivia O’Leary, it will include live readings and music by Cathy Belton, Paul Brady, Neil Martin, Eleanor Methven, Stuart Graham, Andrew Scott and many more of Ireland’s leading performers.