Waterford City’s 1848 Tricolour Celebration just gets bigger and better every year!
Now in its sixth year as a festival, Waterford City’s 1848 Tricolour Celebration, gets bigger and better every year.
The very busy 2016 programme includes possibly the largest historic 1916 re-enactment outside of Dublin City. The event will take place at 14:00 on Saturday 5th March, on the steps of the City’s Bishop’s Place on The Mall, literally a stones through away from 33 The Mall where Thomas Francis Meagher, a Waterford City born native who would later become an American Civil War icon, raised the very first Irish Tricolour flag on the 7th March 1848.
This unique re-enactment will involve the co-ordination of over 80 participants, dressed in period uniforms from the Royal Irish Constabulary, Irish Volunteers, Irregular Irish Units, Regular British Forces and will include civilian re-enactors, from all over Ireland. The event will be supported by a replica period armoured Rolls-Royce car, which was typically used by British forces at the turn of the 20thCentury. Do expect some load bangs and plenty of noise at this event where blank ammunition will be fired to make the re-enactment as realistic as possible.
In addition to the re-enactment, the event will host its second Citizenship Ceremony where approximately 100 people from a variety of nationalities, will be naturalised as new Irish Citizens in a private ceremony that will take place in the City Hall’s Council Chambers, opposite 33 The Mall. The ceremony will be filled with emotion as these new Citizens of Ireland will be naturalised within sight of the very premises where the first ever Irish Tricolour flag was flown at 33 The Mall, in 1848.
Such is the significance of the 2016 Celebration that many Ambassadors will be guests of the weekend’s events and there will be a number of visiting military personnel from the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, New York with Lieutenant Colonel Sean M. Flynn, Commander, 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment one of the guest speakers at the Gala Dinner which will take place on Saturday 6thMarch in the Granville Hotel (birth place of Thomas Francis Meagher). A visiting contingent of 40 guests will also be travelling to Waterford City specifically for the Celebration from the Twin Cities in Minnesota and they will be accompanied by the Irish traditional band the Hounds of Finn, from Saint Paul Minnesota.
The actual Flag Raising Ceremony will take place at 15:00, on The Mall, outside the House of Waterford Crystal, on Sunday 6th March. Ambassadors from the Embassies of the United States, France, Canada, Australia and the UK will be in attendance as well as military personnel and a number of other dignitaries. This event will be supported musically by the Island of Ireland Peace Choir, with additional support from two well known local bands; The Barrack Street Band and The Thomas Francis Meagher Fife and Drum Band.
It looks like Friday 4th March to Sunday 6th March will be an extremely busy weekend for Waterford City with the 1848 Tricolour Celebration pulling out all the stops in this Centenary Year.
Further information can be found at; www.1848tricolour.com and on Facebook; www.facebook.com/1848Tricolour
