Easter Sunday events include a 1916 commemoration ceremony on O’Connell Street, Dublin, tomorrow, at which President Mary McAleese will place a wreath at the GPO, racing, a hot air balloon fiesta and Easter egg hunts.
The 1916 commemoration ceremony, which starts at noon, will be attended by 300 Defence Force members drawn from the Army, Air Corps, Navy and Reserve forces. The Army Cadet School will form a guard of honour for the event and there will be a recital by the Army No 1 Band.
The flag on the top of the GPO will be raised from half mast to full mast and the Piper’s Lament will be played. The Proclamation will be read by Capt Eoghan O’Sullivan of the Southern Brigade. The ceremony is expected to finish at about 12.30pm with a flyover by four PC9 Air Corps aircraft.
The event will be attended by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Minister for Defence Tony Killeen and Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello. Other Ministers and members of the Opposition parties have also been invited to attend.
Those wishing to see the ceremony are asked to be in front of the GPO by 11.30am.
This is the fourth year that official ceremonies have taken place at the GPO at Easter. It began with the revival of the tradition with a special parade in 2006 to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
Elsewhere there is plenty to see and do with a full sporting calendar featuring racing in Cork and Dundalk, as well as the big Easter meeting Fairyhouse.
A Star Wars convention is taking place at Citywest, Dublin, featuring members of the original movie cast, life-sized spacecraft, set themes, props and more.
The people of Belturbet, Co Cavan, will be hoping that rain does not pour on their Easter parade at the Fairgreen on the N3 Dublin/ Cavan road tomorrow. Gardaí will have a stop/go system on the N3/Bridge Street to ease traffic flow. Motorists should expect delays of up to 15 minutes between 5pm and 6pm.
Other events this weekend include a garden fete at Airfield House in Dundrum and the Eggscapoloist puppet show in Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford.
For kids, a number of Easter egg hunts are taking place throughout the country. In Co Westmeath, Glendeer Pet Farm is hosting an egg hunt at 3pm on Sunday and Monday. At Newgrange Farm in Co Meath, children can take part in painted egg competitions, a quiz and sheep stakes - a sheep race with teddy jockeys.
There will also be a Madhatters tea party in Deerpark, Dublin on Sunday complete with a tea cup ride, giant chess, croquet, a hat walk, balloons, and an Easter trail.
In Co Clare the Easter bunny will be making an appearance at the Ailwee Cave treasure hunt for kids, while in Louth, Scotch Hall in Drogheda will be hosting a Lindt chocolate Easter bunny hunt at 2pm on Sunday and an Easter egg workshop where kids can paint their own Easter eggs.
Trim Castle in Co Meath is hosting a gathering of special- shape hot-air balloons until Monday. There will also be Easter egg hunts, face-painting, carousels, storytelling, balloon modelling, inflatables and market stalls.
A posse of graffiti artists is bringing spray cans to the Tivoli for a live event tomorrow while The High Kings, The Four Tops, Chris Rea, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Paul Brady are among the musicians performing around the country over the coming days.
With more cars than usual on the roads this weekend, drivers are urged to be careful and take breaks when feeling tired.
Tomorrow is forecast to be dry and bright in the morning and afternoon in many areas but wet and windy weather will develop in the west by evening.
Rain and strong, southerly winds will extend to the rest of the country in the evening, with western counties having spells of heavy rain overnight. Wet and very windy conditions are expected to persist through Easter Monday and winds may increase to gale force.