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| Masked men lead Republican Easter Rising anniversary march | Masked men lead Republican Easter Rising anniversary march |
| (1 day later) | |
| Masked men linked to a pro-Continuity IRA march paraded defiantly in paramilitary uniforms around a Northern Ireland town on Saturday under the glare of a police helicopter. | Masked men linked to a pro-Continuity IRA march paraded defiantly in paramilitary uniforms around a Northern Ireland town on Saturday under the glare of a police helicopter. |
| Related: 'Things were never quite the same again': stories from the 1916 Easter Rising | Related: 'Things were never quite the same again': stories from the 1916 Easter Rising |
| The men in masks and military-style regalia marched in republican areas of Lurgan in County Armagh as part of a commemoration to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising against British rule in Ireland. | The men in masks and military-style regalia marched in republican areas of Lurgan in County Armagh as part of a commemoration to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising against British rule in Ireland. |
| There was no visible police presence on the ground to monitor the paramilitary procession, but it was watched from above by a Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter. | There was no visible police presence on the ground to monitor the paramilitary procession, but it was watched from above by a Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter. |
| The parade was in support of the oldest and most hardline faction of dissident republicanism – the Continuity IRA. | The parade was in support of the oldest and most hardline faction of dissident republicanism – the Continuity IRA. |
| The CIRA opposes the peace process and regards the political settlement in Northern Ireland, in which Sinn Féin shares power with unionists, as a sell-out of republican principles and the ideals of the 1916 rebels. | The CIRA opposes the peace process and regards the political settlement in Northern Ireland, in which Sinn Féin shares power with unionists, as a sell-out of republican principles and the ideals of the 1916 rebels. |
| The sight of masked men marching around Lurgan will enflame an already tense town, which on Easter Monday is the focal point for thousands of Ulster loyalists. | The sight of masked men marching around Lurgan will enflame an already tense town, which on Easter Monday is the focal point for thousands of Ulster loyalists. |
| Restrictions have been placed on the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Lurgan by the body that adjudicates on controversial marches in Northern Ireland. There are fears in the town of clashes between loyalists supporting the parade and republicans opposed to it. | Restrictions have been placed on the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Lurgan by the body that adjudicates on controversial marches in Northern Ireland. There are fears in the town of clashes between loyalists supporting the parade and republicans opposed to it. |
| North Armagh is a stronghold of the CIRA and its political allies in the hardline Republican Sinn Féin, which split from Sinn Féin in 1986. CIRA was the organisation responsible for the first killing of a member of the PSNI in 2009, when a sniper shot dead PC Stephen Carroll in Craigavon, Armagh. | |
| Meanwhile, the Guardian has learned that Semtex explosive used in the bomb that fatally injured a prison officer in Belfast earlier this month was taken from an arms dump that a former leading IRA figure hid from the republican movement. | Meanwhile, the Guardian has learned that Semtex explosive used in the bomb that fatally injured a prison officer in Belfast earlier this month was taken from an arms dump that a former leading IRA figure hid from the republican movement. |
| Related: The Guardian view on the Easter Rising centenary: Ireland’s history lesson for Britain | Editorial | Related: The Guardian view on the Easter Rising centenary: Ireland’s history lesson for Britain | Editorial |
| The secret arms hide was created by the Provisionals’ former quarter master general just before the IRA split in 1997 that led to the creation of the Real IRA, which opposed the Good Friday agreement. | The secret arms hide was created by the Provisionals’ former quarter master general just before the IRA split in 1997 that led to the creation of the Real IRA, which opposed the Good Friday agreement. |
| Dissidents recently discovered and took a large amount of Semtex from the dump, which is in County Cavan in the Irish Republic. The explosives cache was split with units of another republican faction, the New IRA. | Dissidents recently discovered and took a large amount of Semtex from the dump, which is in County Cavan in the Irish Republic. The explosives cache was split with units of another republican faction, the New IRA. |
| Earlier on Saturday, at an official ceremony in Dublin, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, laid a wreath in the city’s garden of remembrance in memory of all those who died for Irish independence. | Earlier on Saturday, at an official ceremony in Dublin, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, laid a wreath in the city’s garden of remembrance in memory of all those who died for Irish independence. |
| On Sunday, thousands of people are expected to attend the government commemoration parade in Dublin’s O’Connell Street. | On Sunday, thousands of people are expected to attend the government commemoration parade in Dublin’s O’Connell Street. |
| • The subheading of this article was amended on 29 March 2016 because an earlier version said Lurgan was in County Antrim. This has been corrected to say County Armagh. | • The subheading of this article was amended on 29 March 2016 because an earlier version said Lurgan was in County Antrim. This has been corrected to say County Armagh. |