Today, Tuesday March 15th, has been designated Proclamation Day for schools in Ireland, as part of the Ireland 2016 commemorative programme.
Since last autumn the Defence Forces have delivered a handmade Tricolour and a special pack which included a copy of the Proclamation and booklet on care of the flag to over 3,200 Primary Schools in the country. On Monday March 7th Post Primary Students received their Flags and packs at a special ceremony in Croke Park, which marked the culmination of the Ireland 2016 Flags for Schools programme.
Schools have been encouraged to commemorate and reflect upon the events of 100 years ago and among the activities that many Schools are undertaking will be a formal raising of the Tricolour at 12pm. In addition. This will be accompanied by the unveiling and reading of each school’s own ‘Proclamation for a New Generation’. Using the 1916 Proclamation as a foundation, primary and Post Primary schools were invited to write a new Proclamation for 2016 with the aim being that young people will come up with new Proclamations which reflects their vision for a modern Ireland, which embraces people from many nations and cultures.