Ireland will mark two anniversaries in April. The first — 100 years since the birth of playwright Samuel Beckett — has provoked little drama. The second, although not normally regarded as a significant year, has nonetheless sparked heated debate in parliament and a flood of media bickering, and has put the spotlight on the roots of Irish identity at a time when the country is undergoing radical change. Beckett was 10 years old and still living in Dublin when the Easter Rising — 90 years ago next month — shook Ireland. The anniversary of the Nobel Prize-winner’s birth will be celebrated with plays, readings and exhibitions throughout Ireland. Full Story