Arcadia Ireland

This week was very exciting for the Arcadia Dublin staff, as the programme for the Abbey Theatre 1916 centenary commemorative productions was finally announced!

Next year is the 100 anniversary of the 1916 Rising – the beginning of the end of British rule in 26 counties of Ireland. The 1916 Centenary will celebrate all aspects of the Rising and the men and women who were part of it.

The Abbey Theatre was founded in 1904 by W.B Yeats and several other proud Irish men and women. It was central to the Irish Cultural revival which in turn was key to the republican movement and the argument of separation from Britain. When the Rising happened in 1916, several the Abbeys actors were active rebels. So it is completely fitting that the Abbey Theatre will be one of the main venues of the 1916 Commemorations.

With funding from the Irish Government, the Abbey has commissioned a number of new plays focusing on the current relationship Irish people have with the notion the Rising and all that comes with it. We will be attending one of these productions; ''Cyprus Avenue'', along with students studying in Scotland and London next semester as part of the 1916 Dublin Regional Visit.

This gives us a great opportunity to explore on this year’s life of the mind theme ''Protest!''. That is what the 1916 Rising was in essence, a protest. The 1916 Rising was a failed rebellion. But it was its failure that turned the tide on Irish nationalism.

At the launch of the Abbey’s ''Waking the Nation'' programme, Resident Director Dr. Tom Kelly and I listened to the words of the Director the Abbey as well as members of the Irish Government including our Tánaiste Joan Burton (Irish deputy Prime Minister). They reminded us of why remembering 1916 Rising is so important and what can be learnt from it. They drew on the words of a Helena Molony, and Abbey Theatre Actress and 1916 Rebel who famously said;

We saw a vision of Ireland, free, pure, happy. We did not realise this vision. But we saw it.

The 1916 Rising failed to grant independence for Ireland, but it succeeded in creating a vision of Ireland and a mass political movement - a protest- that would years later realise that vision.