Madam, – Brendan McMahon (April 9th) suggests a fixed date to mark the Easter Rising. What he may not realise is that what is important about Easter and the Rising is where the moon is in its orbit around the Earth, rather than where the Earth is in its orbit around the sun.
Jesus was betrayed and taken captive in the grove of olives at night under a full moon. The timing of the Easter Rising was quite possibly chosen for this very reason.
The advantage of natural light at night from a waning gibbous moon is obvious. Although the date each year changes, the night-time conditions remain the same as they would have been at the time of the event. – Yours, etc,