The Irish Proclamation, famously read by Padraig Pearse outside the General Post Office on Sackville Street (now called O’Connell Street) in Dublin during the Easter uprising of 1916, could be written in stone and hung on the wall of all 4,500 schools in Ireland.

It is one of the proposals to mark the centenary of this pivotal event in Ireland’s history that led to its independence five years later.

A prototype of the plaque has been produced by Valentia Slate in Kerry, where it was unveiled this Easter by Minister Jimmy Deenihan, who is heading a cross-party committee looking at ways to mark the founding of the Republic.

It is an exact copy of the original proclamation, including all its typographical errors and quirks, engraved on a slab of natural Valentia slate.

The Valentia Slate quarry was re-opened after lying dormant for 90 years in 1999 by Micheal Lyne, Michael O’Donoghue and Pat O’Driscoll. The company manufactures roof tiles, floor tiles, counter tops and gravestones from the slate.

Like much slate, it is ideal for lettering, although Michael Lyne says to produce a proclamation for every school would require an investment in new machinery.