Today (Monday 7th March) saw the culmination of the Ireland 2016 Flags for Schools programme when representative groups of students, over 6,000, and teachers from every secondary school in the country,  as well as some of our finest young athletes, received a National Flag and a copy of the Proclamation at a special ceremony in Croke Park.

The Flags for Schools initiative, a partnership with the Defence Forces and the Department of Education and Skills, which began in September 2015, was a hugely popular and successful initiative, with over 3,200 schools receiving their own handmade tricolour and special pack which included a copy of the Proclamation and booklet on care of the flag.

Today’s ceremony, which is being held in collaboration with the Thomas F. Meagher Foundation, included a keynote address by President Michael D. Higgins, and is the first of its kind in the history of the state.  The National flag, the Tricolour, was first raised in Waterford in 1848 by Thomas Francis Meagher and was brought to Dublin prior to 1916 by Irish Volunteers from Waterford City.

The ceremony was brought to a close with a special performance by Seo Linn.

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