On Thursday 14 December, a new public art sculpture will be unveiled by President Michael D. Higgins, in a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin.

‘Dearcan na nDaoine - the People’s Acorn’ was created by Irish artist Rachel Joynt and will take its place in the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin, as part of the State 1916 centenary commemorations.

The ceremony will be attended by 170 children from 7 schools, who contributed their thoughts and wishes for Ireland’s future, as well as older people who wrote their thoughts and memories for inclusion in a time capsule to go with the sculpture. Also in attendance will be a number of artists, representatives of the ‘Ireland 2016’ programme and members of the jury who selected the winning design.

The event will start at 11:30 on Thursday 14 December, with the unveiling scheduled to take place at 12 noon, followed by an address by President Higgins at 12:40 pm.