Event remembers British soldiers killed in 1916

The event at Grangegorman Military Cemetery was part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has laid a wreath at a State commemoration event in Dublin marking the deaths of British soldiers in the 1916 Rising.

British Ambassador Dominick Chilcott also laid a wreath at the ceremony on behalf of the British government.

The event at Grangegorman Military Cemetery is part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme.

Mr Flanagan said the ceremony is about recognising the "many different narratives and experiences" of the Rising.

"As many as 125 soldiers of the British Armed Forces died during the Easter Rising. They came from every province on the island of Ireland, as well as England, Wales, Scotland and further afield."

Members of the Irish and British Defence Forces also participated in the event.

Canadian Ambassador to Ireland Kevin Vickers tackles protester at ceremony to honour British soldiers killed in 1916https://t.co/idQ3g16gG8

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 26, 2016

A man who disrupted the service was arrested after being tackled by the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland.

The man, who had posed as an invited guest, started shouting at the start of the ceremony that it was an "insult".

He also referred to Republican prisoners before he was subdued by gardaí.

Relatives of British soldiers who were killed were among the invited guests.

#Ireland2016 Ceremony marking deaths of British Soldiers in #1916Rising has just commenced #AllLivesAreOfEqualValue pic.twitter.com/2YdvzrysKJ

— Ireland 2016 (@ireland2016) May 26, 2016

Sinn Féin defend decision not to attend ceremony

A Sinn Féin TD defended his party's decision not to attend the service, saying it was "not appropriate" to pay tribute to those who were involved in attacking and killing Irish patriots and republicans.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Aengus Ó Snodaigh said those who wish to remember "the enemy of the Irish" in the 1916 Rising could do so, but Sinn Féin would not "seek to equate British soldiers" with republicans who came out to fight against an empire.

He said his party had always acknowledged "the dead of our enemy" and British war dead in many instances, but he said he did not believe it was appropriate to attend this morning's ceremony at Grangegorman Military cemetery.

Speaking on the same programme, Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on foreign affairs said the decision by Sinn Féin was "very sad and pathetic."

Darragh O'Brien said it was appropriate to remember the many young men - some as young as 18 and from Ireland - who died fighting for the British in 1916.

He said "in an Ireland where the British Queen can bow her head in the Garden of Remembrance", it is very sad and pathetic that Sinn Féin feel there is a hierarchy in commemoration.