This past spring break, my family and I were fortunate enough to be able to go to Ireland as our family vacation. The purpose of our trip, however, was not just to spend time in the pubs and view the gorgeous scenery of the Killarney Mountains, but to commemorate my great grand uncle’s participation in the 1916 Easter Rising.

One hundred years ago this month a group of seven Irish rebels signed a Proclamation of Freedom in which they proclaimed their homeland a free from British tyranny, which plagued Ireland since the 16th century. They stood up and fought with everything they had, but in the end the fighting concluded with the surrender and executions of the Rising leaders. Despite the losses that Ireland faced that day, the essence of their cause continues to live on in the hearts of the Irish people, who now benefit from their great sacrifice.

On April 24, 1916 seven men – Thomas Clarke, Sean MacDiarmida, Padraig Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett & Eamonn Ceannt – stood on the steps of the General Post Office (GPO) in the center of Dublin and read their Proclamation of Freedom to all who would listen. These men, just as those who signed the Declaration of Independence in America, put their lives on the line and fought side by side with the townspeople and Irish Volunteers, an organization that appeared alongside the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), that bloody Easter Week, 1916. During this special centenary year, I am honored to say that my great granduncle was signatory Sean MacDiarmida.

Knowing that their fight would not end in success, they surrendered and were imprisoned in Kilmainham jail where they spent their last moments. Plunkett married his fiancée, and others such as MacDiarmida, wrote letters to their families telling them not to mourn their loss but to see it as a brave and courageous deed laying down their lives for their country.

In the early morning hours beginning on May 3, 16 men – the seven signatories and nine other leading officers- were executed by firing squad in the courtyard of the prison. These men faced the obstacle ahead,  headstrong, each fully aware that they might not make it out alive. “The cause is lost if some of us are not shot” said MacDiarmida to some of the Volunteer ranks as the word of surrender reached the ears of the Irish people.

In his last letter to his family MacDiarmida wrote “Make no lament for me. Pray for my soul and feel a lasting cry for my death. I die that the Irish nation may live.”

Today, 100 years after the Rising, the Ireland that these men died for has changed dramatically. Currently, the country is split in two separate provinces – Ireland, a free republic, and Northern Ireland, which still remains under British rule. Conflict from rebels, however, still surrounds the Northern Ireland border, as well as the six counties still under British rule. Despite its violent history, Ireland is now a thriving nation.

In the event of this centenary year, the Irish government has conducted a series of celebrations over the course of the 2016 year – both in Ireland and internationally. Most of these observances occurred during Holy Week and Easter Week, March 24 through April 2. These commemorations included a ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance, a special concert retelling the events through music, a parade on Easter Sunday and live recreations of the battles that occurred.

Due to my relation to Sean, I was invited to participate in the series of commemorative events. On the first day I was given the opportunity to view Kilmainham gaol, the jail where the signatories and rebels were held before their execution. Throughout the tour of the jail, the influence of the Rising on the people of Ireland was extremely apparent. Several of the signers cells are labeled and open to the public to view what the men lived like in their last days.

In Kilmainham, among the gloom, lies a story of love. One of the signers, Joseph Mary Plunkett, married his fiancée, Grace Gifford, in the little chapel the day before his execution. The couple was permitted to wed, then granted 15 minutes together before Grace was forced out of her husband’s cell and Plunkett was dragged out to the courtyard where he was executed and martyred for the cause of Irish freedom.

The song “Grace” was composed to commemorate the story of the Plunketts, their love, and how it was ripped away from them. “Grace” is not the only piece of literature that commemorates the signatories and the Rising itself. The majority of the people who participated were poets and writers, many of which wrote pieces on what occurred.

The Rising still influences modern music, especially in this centenary year. One specific piece was unveiled at a state dinner for the families of those who participated. It was written to honor the centenary and told the story of the revolution. “It was beautiful” said Kateri Budo, another great-grandniece of Sean MacDiarmida who was in the audience that evening. “Between the music and the retelling of parts of the story through narration, it retold the story of what happened in the most beautiful way.”

Throughout Easter Week, all of Dublin was alive with celebrations of their rich and revolutionary history. There were multiple ceremonies honoring the executed leaders. One specific memorial was held on Easter morning in Kilmainham jail, just before the parade, where the President, Michael D. Higgins, laid a wreath on the site on which the men were executed.

In a ceremony on Holy Saturday, a Garden of Remembrance was dedicated in memory of those who died, whether in the Rising or executed in the aftermath. At the dedication, families of signatories, soldiers, and volunteers sat together in solemn memory of their fallen family members through speeches, poems, and a musical performance from the Irish Peace Choir.

On Easter morning, at the same time that Padraig Pearse stood on the steps of the GPO on Easter Monday 100 years ago and first proclaimed Irish freedom, an officer of the Irish Defense Force stood and read aloud the Proclamation of Irish Freedom. In this symbolic moment, everyone that had gathered for the parade, both in the stands and lined up along the street, became silent until the end of the Proclamation in recognition of its significance.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of a parade that showcased all the different sections of the Irish military and their artillery. That evening a dinner was held for the families at Dublin Castle, which showcased music, dancing, pictures from the time period as well as information about the role of the castle in Easter week 1916.

To some, this occasion marks the bravery and the strength of the Irish Nation. Yet, to others, they still see the Easter Rising as a mistake and a silly revolution with no resolve. No matter the opinion on what happened, in the leaders’ giving of their lives for the people of Ireland, they showed what it was to be a true patriot and true Irishman. This belief is represented in the words of my great granduncle, “I feel happiness the like of which I have never experienced. I die that the Irish nation might live.”

As a family member of a signatory and participant in the Rising, it was an amazing experience to be able to travel to Dublin to see where a piece of my family’s history was carved out. In visiting the location where Sean was executed in Kilmainham or seeing his picture publicized outside the GPO where he and six other men had the courage to renounce the tyranny of England and declare Ireland a free and independent nation was something that I will never forget.

I was able to learn so much about who Sean MacDiarmida was and what he stood for. Being able to visit where he grew up in Kiltyclogher, Leitrim, where his house is now a national monument and a statue of him was placed. in the middle of town in his honor, I was able to see the true pride of the Irish people of the men that became martyrs for the sons and daughters of Ireland.

Through the sacrifice of these brave men and women 100 years ago, Ireland is now a free, self-governing nation, living in their own prosperity allowed to celebrate their history freely. This rebellion is still alive in the Irish people who hope for one say a complete and free Ireland, but the courage and sacrifice of these people so many years ago is now and will be remembered in great honor throughout the rest of time.