To: undisclosed-recipients:;
From: Steeler059@...
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:43:31 EDT
Subject: [hibernian] The Easter Rising

  The Easter Rising

"You cannot conquer Ireland. You cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom, then our children will win it by a better deed."
-- Patrick Pearse at his court-martial, May 2, 1916

  April 24, 1916. Irish poet, scholar, and teacher Patrick Pearse stepped from the GPO into the Dublin afternoon and faced the crowds going about their usual business in busy Sackville Street (now O'Connell St.). With a curious lack of his usual magnetism, reflecting the gravity of the deed he had long devoted himself to and which was now at hand, he read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic to the onlookers:
"Irishmen and Irishwomen: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom..."
From that moment on Ireland would, in the words of Yeats' memorial poem, be 'changed, changed utterly'.

The day began at Liberty Hall, where the Volunteers gathered under their commanders for the march to the GPO just before noon. It was a ragged and ill-armed band that set out to defy the British occupation of their land. Plans for the Rising had gone awry in a number of ways. Ideological splits between the various nationalist organizations had led to confusion in orders, which drastically thinned the ranks of Volunteers. A German arms landing, arranged by Roger Casement, had been thwarted by bad timing and Casement was captured (he was later hung in an English prison). It was determined that the Rising would take place regardless of the setbacks. There would be no going back.
here were no illusions that the British could be defeated -- the goal had become to strike a resounding blow which would ripple out beyond the Rising, to force the door to freedom open wide enough that it could never quite be closed again. The architects of the Rising, who included James Connolly, Thomas Clarke (a leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and veteran of various acts of rebellion and grueling stints in English prisons), Sean Mac Diarmada, Joseph Plunkett, and Pearse's good friend Thomas MacDonagh, among others, fully expected to die in the attempt. A fierce devotion to Ireland's freedom obliterated all concerns for self-preservation. On that April morning, a group of Irish men and women, probably numbering no more than 1,000 at most, set out to face down the formidable might of the British empire to strike a blow for Ireland's freedom.

A force of around 150, led by Pearse, Connolly, and the others, commandeered the GPO and established their General Headquarters there. A young Michael Collins was in attendance as Plunkett's aide-de-camp, and would acquit himself admirably in the coming battle. No time was wasted in preparation for the inevitable British backlash. Windows were duly smashed and fortified and the doors barricaded. Two flags were hoisted over the GPO to replace their British counterparts. One was green with a gold harp in the center and "Irish Republic" spelled out in white and gold Irish lettering. The other was the tricolor which is now the official flag of the Republic. Foraging parties were sent out for food and medical supplies.

The G.P.O. photographed from the top of Nelson's Column just after the Easter Rising.

Across Dublin the Volunteers dug in at other key locations. St. Stephen's Green was occupied under the command of Michael Mallin and Constance Markiewicz. Eamonn De Valera operated out of Boland's Mill, the Four Courts were occupied by Ned Daly's 1st Battalion, Thomas MacDonagh held Jacob's factory and Eamonn Ceannt the South Dublin Union. Thomas Ashe and Richard Mulcahy had relative success throughout with their 5th Dublin Battalion in Dublin and Meath. An attack was made on Dublin Castle but the rebels withdrew, believing it to be more heavily guarded than it actually was. Rumors were rife that other parts of the country were rising also, but the earlier confusion and countermanding of orders had effectively halted that possibility. Apart from some concentrated rebellion in Wexford and Galway, and a few scattered skirmishes, the rest of Ireland was quiet throughout the week.

The Volunteers did not have long to wait for the first British move. Just after 1 pm a small force on horseback charged down Sackville Street, to be met with fire from the Volunteers. Four of the mounted Lancers were killed and the rest retreated. After this episode, the suspense lay thick as the British still made no show of force on the GPO, though they were tackling the rebel outposts and had driven the St. Stephen's Green forces into the Royal College of Surgeons. By Monday night the Volunteers had effectively set up a fortified defense of the city center. Tuesday brought more of the same, with no real attack on the GHQ area by the British. But by Tuesday night the reinforcements came pouring in and the British troops numbered over 6,500. Heavy artillery had also been brought in, an ominous sign.

Wednesday morning, April 26th, saw the arrival of the British gunboat Helga up the Liffey. The now-empty Liberty Hall was shelled and destroyed. The British now launched a concerted and sustained campaign against the rebels, slowly advancing artillery and infantry, closing in on the GPO. Incendiary bombs were launched from Trinity College into Sackville Street, setting some buildings alight. By Thursday morning the British had set their sights on the rebel headquarters at the GPO. Another 10,000 troops arrived and rifle, machine gun and artillery fire increased. A shell scored a direct hit on the GPO. But a larger concern for the Volunteers was the increasing threat of the flames engulfing many of the buildings around them. Connolly led a contingent out of the building to form an outpost, and received two serious wounds. He made it back to the GPO and spent the few remaining days of his life incapacitated.

The view of Nelson's column (destroyed by an the I.R.A. in March 1966) down Henry Street showing the devastation in central Dublin after the Eater Rising.

By Friday the British were well within range and shelling the building ferociously. The GPO was in flames and the men inside fought desperately against the inferno. Plans were hammered out for evacuation. This was accomplished in stages, with risky runs for outposts through the non-stop hail of bullets. The O'Rahilly led a charge up Moore Street only to be felled along with 20 of his men. Other groups scattered for cover where they could. Connolly and Pearse remained till the last of the Volunteers had evacuated. Then they, too, made their bid to escape the crumbling fiery remains of the GPO, Connolly being borne on a stretcher.

Volunteers Jack Doyle and Tom McGrath inside the Dublin G.P.O. during the Easter Rising of 1916.

At a shop in Moore Street, Connolly met up with Plunkett, Clarke and Mac Diarmada. Pearse and his brother Willie arrived a short time later. On Saturday the 5 leaders went through anguished conferences, trying to decide the next course of action. News of civilian deaths greatly distressed them (Pearse witnessed a family shot in the street by the British as they emerged from their beleaguered home waving a white flag). It was finally decided that they should end the conflict for the sake of the remaining Volunteers and the citizenry of Dublin. Pearse accordingly sent a message to British Brigadier-General Lowe to open negotiations. Lowe sent back word that they would accept nothing short of unconditional surrender. After another conference, the rebels agreed to this. Pearse walked up Moore Street and met General Lowe to formally surrender. Messages were gotten out to the remaining rebel outposts. De Valera, who had held his area in a Herculean effort, was the last to surrender. The Rising had ended, 6 days after it began.

The leaders of the Rising were picked out for court-martial. There was no doubt as to the outcome: execution by firing squad. Pearse and others were transferred to death cells in Kilmainham Gaol (the president of the courts-martial was deeply distressed at having to condemn Pearse. He remarked to an acquaintance that "I have just had to condemn to death one of the finest characters I have ever come across"). Pearse was executed at 3:30 am on May 3rd in the stonebreaking yard at Kilmainham, as were Thomas Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh. The bodies were thrown into a pit of quicklime. May 4th brought the executions of Willie Pearse, Ned Daly, Plunkett, and Michael O'Hanrahan, who had fought in Jacob's. John MacBride, married to Maud Gonne (Yeats' love) was executed the following day. On May 8th, Eamonn Ceannt, Con Colbert, Michael Mallin and Sean Heuston were shot. May 9th saw the execution of Thomas Kent, who had fought in Cork. On May 12th, Sean Mac Diarmada and James Connolly were executed -- Connolly having to be propped up in a chair to face the firing squad due to the severity of his injuries. It was the last straw. Irish opinion, at first hostile to the rebels, then changing as they witnessed British savagery, now swung vehemently in their favor.

"All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born."

The men and women of 1916 had cast the die. The door to freedom was open and could never be completely closed again.

Republican prisoners being marched to the Dublin docksfor transport tp Britsh prison camps after the 1916 Rising.


Note from Steeler:
To view photo's of the 1916 Rising. Go to the Irish Heritage E-mail Group homepage at    http://hometown.aol.com/steeler059/1916.html