Oxford dons the green as UK celebrates the 1916 Rising

OXFORD and Cambridge are to lead a number of senior British institutions preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 rising.

There will also be centenary celebrations at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican Centre, as well as venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and other cities.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said the centenary commemorations would involve more than 87 events in Britain throughout the year.

He said: ‘The programme will take place in venues across Britain – from institutions of major cultural significance like the Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall and the Barbican, to community spaces from Glasgow to Camden to Liverpool. This is an exciting and busy programme. It offers an occasion to reflect on what happened in Ireland a century ago and on its impact on relationships on these islands.’

The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries will mark the anniversary from February with a two-month display, called 1916: Responses To The Easter Rising. It is also organising a web archiving project and a high-profile academic gathering in March on the rebellion. Also in March, Churchill College Cambridge will host a three-day academic conference, called The Easter 1916 Rising In A Global Perspective.

Other highlights during the year include the Ireland 2016 concert at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow in January with The Chieftains and other guests. London’s largest photography gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery, is putting on an exhibition, while the Barbican Centre is hosting an Irish traditional music extravaganza.

A concert is being staged at the Royal Festival Hall in April and exhibition on Irish culture In Britain is being put on at Wigmore Hall.