A century on from the 1916 Easter Rising, a critical moment in Ireland’s quest for independence from Britain, the event continues to polarize opinion in Ireland and beyond. Some regard it as undemocratic treachery, others as a heroic act of selflessness whose legacy remains unfulfilled.

The armed revolt by the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army against British rule began on April 24 and lasted only five days before its ruthless suppression, but it still casts a shadow over the politics of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The rebellion commanded little popular support at the time, but the decision by the British authorities to execute the ringleaders would prove to be the catalyst for the partition of the island and the formation of an independent state in the south.

It has been impossible to avoid the centenary commemorations in Ireland over the past month. Every school has been presented with the national flag, re-enactments have taken place in the streets of the capital, the state broadcaster RTE has peppered its schedule with historical dramas and documentaries, and on Easter Sunday there was a military parade past the center of the rebellion, the General Post Office, one of the key locations in Dublin seized by the rebels.