Ireland has officially begun commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising.
President Micheal D. Higgins received a standing ovation as he spoke to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the 1916 Rising.
The President's address which he gave in front of 4 thousand people, covered what life was like at that point in Dublin and in Ireland, stating that the values expressed in the Proclamation 100 years ago can still inspire today.
Turning his attention to modern Ireland, he stated that the country was still "a work in progress":
"A democracy is always and must always be a work in progress, and how we use the independence we have been gifted will continue to challenge us, morally and ethically. We must ensure that our journey into the future is a collective one; one in which the homeless, the migrant, the disadvantaged, the marginalized and each and every citizen can find homes, are fellow travellers; a journey which includes all of the multitude of voices that together speak of, and for, a new Ireland born out of contemporary imagination and challenges.
"We have not fully achieved the dreams and ideals for which our forebears gave so much." - President Higgins pic.twitter.com/gNRUvFB5RP
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 26, 2016
"So today, let us look to our past in a way that is emancipatory and transformative. Let us recognise all that was powerfully suggestive in that past as we set about constructing the foundations of a new and better Ireland".
Standing ovation for President Higgins, as he addresses relatives of those who fought and died in 1916. Quote: pic.twitter.com/h5BERoO1wr
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 26, 2016
The President concluded by stating that it was the responsibility of those in the country today to build an Ireland "of which our founders would be proud; truly representative of a nation rooted in courage, vision and a profound spirit of generous humanity".
Earlier, President Michael D Higgins led a wreath laying ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin at lunchtime.
Relatives of those who died in the revolution against British rule joined political leaders at the event, where they held a minutes silence.
Muriel McAuley, granddaughter of Thomas McDonagh- one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation, read a letter written by Padraig Pearse from Kilmainham Gaol:
Granddaughter of James Connolly, Margaret Connolly, travelled from San Francisco to be here for this weekend's commemoration.
She reflected on the changes that have happened in Ireland since her grandfather was alive:
