Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa ceremony takes place in Dublin

The Irish president, prime minister and government ministers have taken part in the state centenary commemoration of the death of republican Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa.

Although he died in exile in 1915, the Fenian leader, who fought for Irish independence, was buried in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery.

His original funeral is seen as a pivotal moment in Irish history.

Several of those who attended went on to take part in the 1916 Easter Rising.

'Ireland unfree'

Saturday's event was the first state memorial in the Republic of Ireland's programme of 1916 centenary commemorations.

Fifteen hundred members of the public who applied for tickets attended.

Members of the diplomatic corps, including from the UK, were in attendance as well as members of the extended O'Donovan Rossa family whose ancestor spent long periods in British jails for his activities.

Large screens showed the event outside the cemetery where there was a public viewing area, with spaces for up to 5,000 people.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and Prime Minister Enda Kenny at the ceremony on Saturday

Mr O'Donovan Rossa's grave at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin

At the original funeral, the Easter Rising leader Padraig Pearse delivered the oration in which he famously said: "The fools, the fools, the fools! They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace."

The oration was read out again on Saturday.

In the 1850s, O'Donovan Rossa was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) known colloquially as the Fenians, a reference to Na Fianna, a band of warriors who defended Ireland from invaders in Irish mythology.

The IRB was a small, secret, revolutionary body committed to the use of force to establish an independent Irish republic.

A piper plays at the ceremony

O'Donovan Rossa was imprisoned in various jails in England for his activities and later moved to New York following his release, continuing his efforts to oppose British rule in Ireland.

After his death, his remains were brought to Ireland by the American liner St Paul from New York to Liverpool.

They were then transferred to the steamer Carlow, which carried them to Dublin.

Separately, Sinn Féin organised a full-scale re-enactment of the funeral, which was one of the largest in Ireland's history.

A number of road closures have been in place while the events took place.

A military guard of honour at the event

President Higgins lays a wreath to Mr O'Donovan Rossa