LONDON

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Ireland’s capital Dublin on Sunday to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, which helped bring about Irish independence from Britain six years later.

President Michael D. Higgins led a ceremony outside the General Post Office, which served as the rebels' headquarters during the six-day revolt, the BBC’s Northern Ireland news channel reported.

Organizers said they expected the commemoration to be the largest parade in Irish history, as crowds gathered to hear the 1916 independence proclamation read by an army officer outside the post office in O’Connell Street.

Ireland’s tricolor flag flew at half-mast as Higgins laid a wreath.

Earlier he laid another tribute at Kilmainham Gaol, where most of the rebellion’s leaders were executed.

Acting Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the ceremonies were intended to “honor the memory of those who died in 1916 with the respect and dignity that is their due”.

The rising fueled a shift in Irish public opinion that led to the country’s separation from Britain in 1922 and the creation of the Republic of Ireland.