This medal was created on 24th January 1941 and was presented to participants deemed to have taken part in the Rising in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916 and to members of Cumann na mBann who attended the casualties and also to rural units of the Irish Volunteers who were also involved and were later declared
eligible for the award.

OBVERSE :  fashioned in the form of a star of eight points, based broadly on the pattern of the Irish Army cap badge, but there is no inscription on the sword belt and in place of the 'FF' is shown a figure of the legendary mythological Celtic Warrior Cuchulainn. Mortally wounded in battle, he had himself tied to a tree stump, facing the enemy, with a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left hand. Such as his reputation for ferocity that his foes were afraid to approach, until a raven lighting on his shoulder indicated he was truly dead. The original sculpture by Oliver Sheppard may be seen in the GPO, Dublin where it stands as a memorial to the men of 1916.

REVERSE :  Plain with the words "SEACTMAIN NA CASGA 1916" translated as Easter Week 1916

RIBBON :  Half green, half orange, green to the wearers right. The ribbon hangs from a brooch of bronze bearing an interlaced Celtic design. As there were two manufacturers of this medal and made in several batches, the medals do differ slightly from each other, most notably the suspender pin bar with is sometimes a thin band or sometimes the width of the 1921 medal.

SUSPENSION :  A small ring is affixed to the back of the top point of the star and through this is a larger ring which is sewn to the back of the ribbon.

DESIGNER :  Corporal Gerard O'Neill, Corps of Engineers, Irish Army.

MANUFACTURERS :  The Jewellery and Metal Manufacturing Co. Ltd and
P. Quinn Ltd..

NUMBERS ISSUED  :  There were never more than 1700 men and women
involved in the Rising in Dublin, but to date 2411 medals have been issued from 1941 until around the late 1970's. The disparity in numbers may be explained by the fact that isolated rural units of the Volunteers carried out sporadic attacks against the Crown forces and the participants were deemed to have taken place in the Rising and were declared eligible to receive the medal.

The 1916 medal was issued un-named but some of the recipients had their names engraved privately on the back in a variety of scripts and styles.  There were medals that were presented posthumously that were 'named' and numbered' but verification is impossible and should be treated with caution if offered to buy.