A Quick Summary

The Easter Rising took place on the 24th of April 1916 in Dublin,Ireland. A republican organization, the IRB,had incited a Rising of about 1,600 rebels. The Rising was quickly crushed by Crown Forces. The handling of the rebels however created mass sympathy.

The consequence of this rebellion is still felt in Irish and International politics.

The Main Players

The Irish Republican Brotherhood(IRB)

This was a secret oath-bound organization that would only be content with an armed struggle against the British forces. It was founded during the 1840's and had its roots in the American Fenian movements. During the 1850's it launched a bombing campaign in England. In 1867 it led a failed Irish uprising. However it had faided away by 1922. By 1916 the IRB had infiltrated several other Gaelic Revivalist organisations like the Gaelic Athletic Association(GAA), Gaelic League, Cumann na mBan¹ and the Irish Volunteer Forces(IVF)², through these they recruited young men and women to join their cause.

Irish Volunteer Force

This body was formed to protect the indoctrination of Home Rule³ into Ireland in 1914⁴, after another organisation in Northern Ireland,the UVF⁵, vowed to destroy Home Rule. This was a militant organisation which became disillusioned with the Democratic system as Home Rule wasn't introduced in 1914.

The Irish Citizens Army

This was another militant republican faction but one which leant more towards Marxism and socialism. It was founded during the 1913 lockout to protect the trade unionists. Its founder and leader was James Connolly.⁶ He was still viewed by many working class people with equal amounts of suspicion and admiration. The Citizen Army never matched the IVF in numbers⁷but it still formed a core part of the rising.

Sinn Féin

Although they took no part what so ever in 1916 they got associated with it because newspapers, magazines and even the British government referred to the rising as the "Sinn Féin Rising". Its leader,Arthur Griffith was thrown in jail for suspected involvement.

The British Army

The British army was not very numerous in Dublin at the time. Quite a few of the 20,000 soldiers involved in the crushing of the rebellion were Irishmen. For this reason, and because of the widespread destruction of property, at first the rebels were hated by the ordinary Irish person.

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

Planning a Rising

In 1915 the IRB set up a Military Council to draw up plans for a rebellion using the IVF. The council included Thomas Clarke, Seán MacDiarmada, Thomas McDonagh, Joseph Mary Plunkett, Eamonn Ceannt and Pádraig Pearse. One noticeable absent person was the commander in chief and founder of the IVF Eoin Mac Neill, the IRB knew that he would never allow an all out rebellion.

In January of 1916, the IRB learned that James Connolly was beginning to plan a rebellion of his own with The Irish Citizen Army. They "kidnapped" him and asked him to join their rebellion...understandably he did.

The IRB had managed to get Germany to pledge 20,000 rifles and bullets for them for the rebellion, to be landed at Inch strand in Co. Kerry one week prior to the rebellion.

On Wednesday of holy week,the IRB forged a letter from Dublin Castle⁸, known as the "Castle Document", that ordered the execution of Eoin Mac Neil, they showed this to Mac Neill who then was very easily persuaded to give an order to the IVF "To resist any British action against them". This was the order that the IRB needed to go ahead with the rebellion.The rebellion was to take place on Sunday 23rd of April

Meanwhile the ship transporting the German guns, the "Aud", was intercepted by the Royal Navy. The captain⁹ scuttled the ship. The 20,000 rifles and their bullets were lost and the rebellion had no chance of succeding.¹⁰

On Holy Thursday things went from bad to worse, Mac Neill found out that the "Castle Document" was a fake! He put an advertisement in the Irish Independent which told all IVF members that "No parades,marches or other movements of the volunteers will take place"

This cancellation caused the IRB to move back the rebellion one day to Easter Monday 24th of April 1916. It was also the cause of a lot of rural volunteers coming on Sunday to be told there was no rebellion and going home. All the leaders realised that they were going to die, they still went ahead with it so that it "May inspire future generations".

The Rising

On the 24th of April Easter Monday 1,600 IVF and Citizen Army personnel took over several key buildings in Dublin. The plan was simple, hold off the British for as long as possible. The buildings they took over included, the Four Courts, Bolands Mills, Jacobs Biscuit Factory, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Mendicity Institute and most famously the GPO(General Post Office).¹¹

Pearse and Connolly read out "The Proclamation of The Republic" on the steps of the GPO, to a small crowd of bemused Dubliners.

An extract from "The Proclamation of the Republic"

"In the name of God and of the dead generations... Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for freedom... supported by her exiled children in America and by gallant allies in Europe... she strikes in full confidence of victory"

The British Response

The British government in Ireland was shocked by the rebellion, the capture of the Aud and the cancellation order of Mac Neills had sent them into false sense of security. More than that... there were only 2,000 soldiers in the Dublin area. Quickly vicious street battles occurred on the streets of Dublin. Often these were viewed apon as a kind of spectator sport by the public,which would applaud at a particularly good shot or boo at bad tactics. One of the most famous tales is of 9 volunteers holding off 3 battalions of British troops on Northumberland Road while being applauded by particularly brave spectators. Within 2 days there were 20,000 British soldiers in Dublin¹⁴ and a gun boat, called "Helga", was sailed up the Liffey and had started to shell rebel positions. Most of the center of Dublin was ruined, espicially around the Sackville street area.¹⁵

On Thursday the GPO was evacuated as the roof had caught fire due to incendiary shells. Seeing the terrible devestation, Pearse soon ordered the surrender of the IVF and Citizen Army.A young Cumman Na mBan woman was given Pearse's sword, a white flag and a bike and was told to tell the IVF and Citizen Army rebels of the surrender. By Saturday the Rising was over.

Retaliation

British Army Commander General Maxwell, obviously feeling betrayed by this act of treason in the "Home Isles", was determined to show the rebels no mercy. Millitary courts were opened, men and women were sentenced to death.

The executions began with:

3rd-May Pearse, McDonagh and Clarke.

4th-May Willie Pearse, Pádraig Pearse's brother who had no part in the Rising, he was executed. Joseph Mary Plunkett hours after his marriage, in Kilmainham Gaol Chapel,to his fiancée.Edward Daly and Micheal Hanrahan were also shot.

5th May-John MacBride.

8th May-Two innocent men Cornelius Colbert and Sean Heuston were shot along with Eamonn Ceannt and Micheal Mallin

9th May-Thomas Kent

12th May-James Connolly had been severely wounded in the GPO in the leg. During his stay in jail it had gone gangrenous due to the lack of medical care. When his execution day arrived he was taken from his death bed,tied to a chair and shot. He was delerious from his wound and didn't really know what was going on.

75 others were sentenced to death. Other death sentences were remanded to imprisonment.

Countess Markievicz¹⁶ and Eamonn DeVelera were acquited of their death sentences. Markievicz because she was married to a polish count, DeValera because he had an American passport.¹⁸

Public Reaction

At the beginning the vast majority hated the rebels, opinion changed very rapidly soon afterwards for a number of reasons.

1. The execution of a crippled Connolly generated widespread sympathy
2. 3,500 people were arrested and interned even though only 1,600 people took part in the rebellion
3. the British army maintained marshal law and a curfew for a very long time
4. Arthur Griffith,leader of Séin Féin was thrown in jail for suspected involvement,even though he had no part in it

The Rising's Implications

It inspired a whole new generation of republicans. The likes Micheal Collins were junior officers in 1916 soon became the leaders of the War of Independance. Sinn Fein grew greatly in popularity, in contrast the Home Rule party lost most of its seats in the next elections.

An Opinion

1916 was a bloody mess. The death of hundreds of men for a rebellion that was badly planned, badly executed and badly supplied. A frontal assault on the might of the British forces was suicide. Another group will say that it was a glorious sacrifice.

"Now and in time to be,

Whenever green is worn,

A changed,changed utterly,

A terrible beauty is born"-William Butler Yeats, Easter, 1916