Unionists' response: Unionist Assembly members have declined a formal Government invitation to join the commemorations of the 1916 Rising in Dublin tomorrow.
It was reported yesterday that there would be some representatives of the unionists in attendance. However DUP and Ulster Unionist sources said that no Stormont elected representative would accept an invitation.
A Government statement confirmed that unionists had been invited.
"The Taoiseach did indicate that all MLAs, including unionists, would be welcome. But no unionist representative has indicated a wish to attend. The Government fully respects that position."
However The Irish Times understands that all invited guests are entitled to be accompanied by a guest to a reception at Dublin Castle after the parade. It is therefore possible that unionist figures could attend in that capacity.
Both Sinn Féin and the SDLP will be represented, with many of the SDLP's Assembly team, including leader Mark Durkan and deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell, in attendance.
The DUP stepped up its criticisms of President Mary McAleese following her claim yesterday that those behind the 1916 Rising gave their lives for today's society which enjoys the benefits of the Celtic Tiger.
Ian Paisley jnr said unionists would take "a very different view of those involved in organising a rebellion against the United Kingdom in 1916".
Those behind the Rising were motivated by nothing other than a "hatred of all things British".
He accused Mrs McAleese of revising history, adding: "There is no escaping the fact that those involved in the terror rising were motivated by causing as much damage to the British nation and as much opportunity to Germany during the great war period." The North Antrim Assembly member contested Mrs McAleese's likening of the men and women of the Rising with the soldiers who fought in the first World War.
She said: "They did what they did in the belief that they were helping a new generation to grow up in freedom and without fear. That is true of those who died [ in Dublin] in 1916, and it's true of those who died on the Somme."
Mr Paisley, however, said the rebels collaborated with the Germans at a time when many of their fellow Irish men were "fighting on the battlefields of Europe for the real cause of freedom".
Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, said yesterday he welcomed the commitment by the Taoiseach to building a shared future on the island for everyone.
"In that spirit he should now move speedily to make provisions for all citizens to participate in the political life of the nation," Mr McGuinness said.