Local authorities to receive €10,000 grant for decade of centenaries

Every local authority in the country is to receive €10,000 each to mark the War of Independence and Civil War.

The money is intended to replicate the success of the Easter Rising centenary where local authorities co-ordinated commemorations in each county.

Most of the 3,500 events which occurred to mark the Easter Rising centenary in 2016 were organised by communities overseen by the local authorities.

The allocation follows on from the recommendation of the expert advisory group on commemorations about the second half of the decade of centenaries.

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It recommended that responsibility for the vast majority of events commemorating the War of Independence and the Civil War should be devolved down to local communities and that the State should only be involved in organising a number of setpiece events.

The group also believe that local communities have been commemorating events related to both the War of Independence and Civil War for generations and should continue to do so.

Development

A local authority forum will take place on Wednesday which will provide an opportunity for local authorities to share their experiences as they approach the development of their plans.

Speakers will include Dr Maurice Manning and Dr Martin Mansergh – chair and deputy chair of the expert advisory group respectively.

Announcing the allocation the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan said the "thoughtful and sensitive leadership of the local authorities" will be critical in the years ahead.

She said the money will be allocated to provide a “supportive structure that ensures that these significant and often deeply personal events are remembered within counties and communities in a measured and non-partisan manner that is accepting of differing perspectives on our shared history and promotes respectful remembrance and reconciliation”.