The National Museum of Ireland has a long tradition of exhibitions relating to Easter Week 1916. The Decorative Arts & History Museum has put on show one of the largest displays of materials from this period in an exhibition entitled Proclaiming a Republic. The exhibition explores the background to the 1916 Rising. It introduces the visitor to the nuances of contemporary political events; the rise of the Catholic élite; the push for Home Rule along with the counter-moves of unionism; the increasing ‘Irish-Ireland’ aspects of the arts and cultural movements of the period and the growth of republican nationalism.