Fingal County Council supports 1916 Commemoration Projects
Fingal County Council is assisting community and voluntary groups to play their part in commemorating the events of 1916 through the Centenary Community Funding Scheme (CCFS). The fund, which is currently open to applications, supports individuals and groups to run events and projects as part of the Centenary Commemoration.
Among the groups who have been awarded funding is ‘The Banter Boys’, a youth service in Swords, who are producing four large artworks depicting the events of 1916. Once complete, these pieces will be exhibited in libraries across Fingal. The Foróige Youth Service in Blanchardstown has also been granted funds to create a 1916 project based on Joe Duffy’s book ‘The Children of the Rising.’ 38 young people, representing various cultures and ethnicities from Dublin 15, will walk in the Blanchardstown St. Patrick’s Day parade and the Swords 1916 Commemorative parade on 24th April, each holding a large helium balloon (in green, white and orange) to remember the 38 young people from their area who died during the rising.
The 1916 Dublin Players from Skerries have been awarded funding to perform a play on the subject of the Fingal story told through the eyes of Nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell. Elizabeth joined Cumann na mBan on its inception in 1914 and was involved directly in the events of 1916. The play will be performed in the Floraville Garden in Skerries on Easter Week 2016. The Forget-Me-Nots, an inclusive community choir for older people, family, friends and neighbours that is especially welcoming to those affected by dementia and memory loss, are hosting a 1916 Commemorative Tea Dance with old Irish ballads, war songs, vintage music, 1916 reflections and appreciation and dancing. The event will take place on Friday 22nd April in the Marine Hotel, Sutton.
Naomh Mearnog GAA Club, in Portmarnock, will reflect and celebrate the 1916 rising through recitals, song and re-enactments. Their events will remember life back in 1916: how people dressed; the street games that children played and the songs that were sung. They will also pay special tribute to those who died tragically and by execution. Rush Heritage Committee have received funding from the Centenary Fund to run a series of family events and their St. Patricks Day Parade will be themed “1916 Commemoration”.
Fingal County Council Chief Executive, Paul Reid commented: “The men and women from Fingal in 1916, who played a vital role in the Rising were very young, politically active and socially aware, just as Fingal today is diverse, youthful, vibrant, engaged and socially aware. Fingal County Council has tried to capture this youth and vigour in our County’s commemorative programme. As well as more traditional forms of commemoration and reflection, the council is supporting a range of events specifically for young people, including those from our new communities, based around poetry, theatre, film, proclamation readings in Irish and English, commemorative tree planting ceremonies and historical re-enactments in schools. We are also supporting the network of community centres across the area in marking the Centenary at a local level”.
The Centenary Community Funding Scheme is part of Fingal County Council’s Centenary Programme, which will see over 50 lectures, film screenings, performances, re-enactments, talks and exhibitions cumulate in a special Commemorative Day in Swords on Sunday 24th April 2016. The funding supports projects, activities and events that fall under one or all of the 5 themes: Remember; Reconcile; Imagine/Reimagine; Present and Celebration.
For further information on how to apply for funding for your project, activity or event visit: www.fingal.ie
