President Catherine Connolly lays wreath at 1916 Rising ceremony

President Catherine Connolly has laid a wreath to commemorate those who died during the 1916 Easter Rising, for the first time since taking office.

Thousands of people lined Dublin’s main thoroughfare O’Connell Street for an event marking the 110th anniversary of the armed rebellion against British rule in Ireland.

The commemoration was also attended by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Simon Harris, Defence Minister Helen McEntee, Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.

Crowds began to gather before 11am for the ceremony which saw a parade of Defence Forces personnel and music from a military brass band.

A Defence Forces chaplain led a prayer and the national tricolour flag above the General Post Office (GPO) was lowered to half-mast at noon.

Following a reading of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, the flag was raised again after Ms Connolly laid a wreath to commemorate those who had died in the Rising and the national anthem was played before an Air Corps flyover.

A minute’s silence was also observed, breaking almost exactly as a hail shower fell on O’Connell Street after the otherwise sunny event.

In a statement, Mr Martin said: “Today, at the GPO, we gather to mark the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and remember those who lost their lives.”

At a later Sinn Fein event for the anniversary, Ms McDonald used her speech to accuse Mr Martin of a “dereliction of duty” over what she described as inaction over Irish reunification.