The closure of Dublin’s city centre Anglican churches on Easter Sunday over security concerns surrounding the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising has been lifted.
The closure of Dublin’s city centre Anglican churches on Easter Sunday over security concerns surrounding the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising has been lifted. Following complaints by the Church of Ireland that it had not been consulted prior to the government announcement that there would be no access to seven city centre churches on Easter Sunday and that the Garda Síochána have requested that the front gates of Christ Church Cathedral remain locked for the day, the government last week said it would do what it could to accomodate the church. In a statement released to the press, a government spokesman said “it will be possible to facilitate access by parishioners to [Anglican] Easter ceremonies.” However, “given the expected scale of events and of attendance by the general public on Easter Sunday, it will be necessary to put some exceptional public-safety arrangements in place.” Dublin Archbishop Michael Jackson thanked the government for its “ willingness to consult regarding the facilitation of the Church of Ireland’s provision of worship in the city centre churches on Easter Day during the Commemoration of 1916.” A diocesan statement noted: “While the archbishop of Dublin is very grateful for this, he recognises that most city centre churches are used by congregations who travel in, for the most part, from areas of the city outside the security cordon. For health and safety reasons and so that those who wish to worship on Easter morning can do so with greater ease, the provision of alternative places of worship remains in place. Senior church clergy will shortly meet with the Government and An Garda Síochána in an attempt to facilitate ease of access to Christ Church Cathedral in order that the cathedral may open for worship on Easter Sunday morning.”
