The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, today laid a wreath at Kilmainham Gaol to commemorate the leaders of the 1916 Rising.
Mr Ahern began a day of events to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Rising, the highlight of which will be the first Easter parade to be held in the State for over 30 years.
Mr Ahern paid tribute to the vision and bravery of the men and women of 1916 "who gave their lives so that Ireland could gain her freedom".
He welcomed the only surviving child of any of the 1916 leaders, Fr Joseph Mallin, whose father Micheal was executed in the Stonebreaker's Yard at the Gaol. Fr Mallin travelled from Hong Kong to participate in the ceremony.
In his address, Mr Ahern read Michael Mallin's final letter to his wife, in which he told her of the verdict of the Court Martial and wrote that he forgave the soldiers and the police. "Pray for all the souls that fell in this fight, Irish and English," he wrote.
The Taoiseach said that we are privileged to be living through one of the most exciting times in Ireland's history. "Independent Ireland is now in full stride and beginning to fulfill the hopes and expectations that all the patriots of the past knew we possessed."
He said that he had always maintained that when Irish people consider the struggle for independence, "we should honour the achievement of all those who took part".