On Wednesday, 27 April 2016, Wexford County Council will host a series of events in Enniscorthy marking the centenary of one of the most significant days in the town’s history. The date marks exactly 100 years since the Irish Volunteers and Cumann na mBan rose to take Enniscorthy in support of the 1916 Rising in Dublin.
The Patriots’ Flag Monument, 3pm
Wexford County Council will officially unveil the Patriots’ Flag Monument in Abbey Square as a tribute to the hundreds of men and women who took part in the Rising in County Wexford. Located adjacent to the statue of Captain Seamus Rafter of the Irish Volunteers, the monument flagpole bears a tricolour of green, white, and orange, making it the largest national flag flown in Ireland. A military ceremony will accompany the raising of the flag.
County Wexford 1916 Exhibition, 4pm
Following months of research and preparation, the County Wexford 1916 Exhibition will officially open in Enniscorthy’s recently refurbished Athenaeum on Castle Street. It includes a reconstruction of the rebels’ 1916 headquarters, presenting information through props, graphics, and audio narratives. Dedicated spaces include a war council room, secretary’s office, and an emergency hospital and kitchen. Wexford County Council archivist Grainne Doran curated the exhibition, which also features a large-scale model of Enniscorthy Town depicting several buildings that featured prominently during the Rising.
Captain Thomas Wafer, 5pm
The Committee of the Captain Wafer Hall in Spring Valley will unveil a plaque on the Hall in memory of Thomas Wafer. An Enniscorthy native, he was a captain of the Irish Volunteers in Dublin and played a prominent role in the Rising. He was killed in action in the Hibernian Bank on O’Connell Street on 26 April 1916.
Relatives of 1916 Volunteers, 6pm to 9pm
Later in the evening, invited relatives of County Wexford’s 1916 volunteers will gather at Enniscorthy’s Riverside Park Hotel, where each will receive a specially designed certificate from Wexford County Council honouring their relation by name. Recipients will display the certificates in homes across the county and beyond, ensuring the men and women of the 1916 Rising are remembered.