More importantly perhaps, the words in the 1916 proclamation still set benchmarks for political leaders today. It would undoubtedly be a bitter disappointment to the seven men who put their names to the proclamation that cherishing all Irish children equally is still only an aspiration.

The military parade in Dublin city centre today - and other events around the county - should be seen as the precursors to the centenary anniversary of the Easter Rising in 2016. They are, in effect, a trial run for the commemorations which will undoubtedly dominate national life in 10 years' time.

The taoiseach has stressed his desire to see the 1916 commemorations as "an inclusive event". Ahern wants all strands of opinion in this state and in Northern Ireland to celebrate "the people who gave us our freedom, our independence, our self-determination and all we have today and all that we want to build in the future."

Achieving such inclusiveness, however, may necessitate a re-think about how 1916 is celebrated. While not seeking to denigrate the role of the defence forces in today's events, it may well be that greater imagination is required in deciding how we organise future commemorations.

The taoiseach was entirely correct in reconstituting a significant national event to mark the Easter Rising. But, maybe he was wrong to simply pick up the pieces where the state left off with its last military parade over 30 years ago.

All areas of Irish life have been fundamentally transformed since the early 1970s while the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 has redefined the constitutional relationship between the two parts of the island. There is a new understanding of the different traditions north and south of the border while militant republicanism finally seems to have been cast into the rubbish bin of history.

Unfortunately, today's commemoration does not do justice to these changes in Irish life.

A broader range of people from different areas of Irish life should be included in the planning committee for the 100th anniversary celebrations. Organising this important commemoration should not be left to a small group of politicians and civil servants.

Those with responsibility for planning the centenary celebrations should be encouraged to think beyond a traditional military parade as the centre piece of the commemoration events.

We need an event which celebrates a centenary of achievement of all the people on this island - not just those of the men and women of 1916. We need an event that celebrates the new period of peace on the island and an event which will help to sustain it.

Most importantly, we need an event that republicans, unionists and others can participate in together. We do not need an event that emphasises only the violence and military endeavours of Pádraig Pearse and his colleagues, rather an event that stresses the words proclaimed by Pearse from the steps of the GPO.