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Easter Rising
During a meeting in the Gealic League headquarters in September 1914 between the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and several other republican organisations was decided to stall an uprising for the time Britain was at war. Postponing an uprising gave also the opportunity to build up organisations and forces.
John Redmond
Also in September 1914 the appeal of John Redmond to enlist in the British army caused a conflict in the Irish Volunteers. Those in favour of this proposal left the Irish Volunteers and formed the National Volunteer Force (NVF) or Redmondities. Because many of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) also enlisted in the British army Redmond suggested that the British could withdraw their troops from Ireland and deploy them in Flanders (Belgium) or France.
Not all Irish Volunteers were enthusiast about the idea to serve in the British army as you can see in the song The British Army. Only 11,000 men remained with the Irish Volunteers under Eóin MacNeill.
After the division of the Irish Volunteers Bulmer Hobson became member of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). As such he had no aversion against using violence, but his willingness to use violence was not unconditional:
- Not a small revolutionary group, but the majority of the Irish population had to support violence as mean to archive independence.
- There was no use in using violence if the risk to lose was too big: We must not fight to make a display of heroism, but fight to win..
These conditions positioned him in the margins of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). In fact he was forced to resign from the Supreme Court of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Nevertheless he was still considered the most dangerous man of Ireland by the British Intelligence.
Military Council
Irish Volunteers, 1916.
(source: unknown)
In 1915 Pádraic Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, Sean Mac Diarmada, Eamonn Ceannt and Thomas Clarke formed the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and took effective control over the organisation. They repealed the decision to stall a rising, but managed to keep it a secret. Probably no more then 30 people, and none of them of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), were involved in the organisation of the coming rising.
In 1916 James Connolly was voted in the Military Council. Officially to ensure participation of the Irish Citizens Army (ICA) in a coming rising. The participation of the Irish Citizens Army (ICA), approximately 250 men, was important for the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) because they were excellent trained. It is very likely though that James Connolly by parading his Irish Citizens Army (ICA) through the streets of Dublin became a security risk. They might attract the attention of the British and increase the security level. By including Connolly the Military Council gained control over the Irish Citizen Army (ICA).
Several weeks later Thomas MacDonagh became the seventh member of the Military Council.
By excluding the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) the Easter Rising had become a venture of a small group. Without a doubt they must have known that a rising at that time was doomed to fail:
- A large part of the former Irish Volunteers was fighting abroad and therefore not available for the Easter Rising. The armed forces of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) were thus limited in men, but also in armoury. Their opponent on the other hand relied on an armed police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), and the British army with virtually unlimited resources.
- The Irish objected the idea to attack the British while their sons, husbands and fathers served in the British army and fought in Europe.
- The agrarian industry flourished, ironically partially because of the war.
- The Irish people seemed quit happy with the Third Home Rule Bill and they understood why Britain wanted to wait with the execution of this Bill until after the war.
On 22 April 1916 Eóin MacNeill issued an order to try to stop the Easter Rising. He also placed an advertisement in a newspaper halting all operations of the Irish Volunteers. Due to this the Military Council puts the Rising on hold for 24 hours. During these 24 hours the seven members of the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) signed the proclamation of Poblacht Na h Éireann, or Irish Republic, and therewith their death warrant.
Easter 1916
Noon Monday 24 April 1916 the Rising - or Easter Rising - begins in Dublin. A force of approximately 1000 to 1500 men and women attempted to seize Dublin, with the ultimate intention of destroying British rule in Ireland and creating an entirely independent country.
Depending on your point of view the Easter Rising was an act of great heroism or an act of despair. The Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) must have knew that they were outnumbered in men and fire power. And, perhaps even worse, they could not rely on the support of the people.
It is known that Pádraic Pearse and James Connolly knew the Easter Rising was a suicide mission before it has started. The morning of the Rising Pádraic Pearse said to his mother: The day is coming when I shall be shot, swept away, and my colleagues like me..
Small flocks of armed men marched through the streets to seize various buildings or groups of buildings. The most important strongholds were:
- The General Post Office (GPO) in Sackville Street, now O'Connoll Street, acted as headquarters. Pádraic Pearse proclaimed the creation of a provisional government of the new Irish Republic. The Green Flag and the Green, White and Orange tricolour were hoisted side by side.
- Eamonn Ceannt commanded the troops at the South Dublin Union (a congeries of poor-houses and the like).
- Edward Daly's battalion held the Four Courts and they used the law books from its library as barricade.
- Under command of Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz St. Stephen's Green transformed in a battlefield with trenches and barricades.
- Eamonn de Valera was in charge of the troops at Boland's Flour Mill, which covered the approach roads from Kingstown, now Dun Laoghaire, where any reinforcements from England would almost certainly disembark.
Dublin Castle, symbol of British power and seat of the military intelligence, resisted the attacks.
Remarkably the Easter Rising seems to have been a surprise for the British. We must assume that British intelligence had infiltrated the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), the Irish Citizens Army (ICA) and the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF). On top of this they had incepted the Aud, a German ship with weapons near Trallee. Despite the available information there was no build up of forces, on the contrary: On Easter Monday many British officers were at Fairyhouse Races. Perhaps the intelligence was collected, but not processed.
Obviously the key to this question is the small circle of men who where really involved in the organisation. Some authors also suggest that the destruction of the Aud at Banna Strand had reassured the British. We think this is a disparagement of British intelligence. Britain was in a high state of alert due to the ongoing war and they were aware of the guns brought ashore at the Howth Gun Running.
Due to their limited numbers the army was unable to force the rebels back and besides proclaiming martial law throughout Ireland they could only wait for reinforcements which are due to arrive the following day.
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| Red line indicates British blockade through the city centre (not drawn are the blockades in the north and south of the city) | |
| 1: General Post Office (GPO, Pádraic Pearse, Thomas James Clarke, Joseph Mary Plunkett, William Pearse and James Connolly) 2: Four Courts (Edward Daly) 3: Mendicity Institution (Sean Hueston) 4: South Dublin Union (Eamonn Ceannt) 5: Jacob's Factory (Thomas MacDonagh, Michael O'Hanrahan and John MacBride) 6: College of Surgeons (Michael Mallin and Countess Constance Markievicz) 7: Boland's Mill (Eamonn de Valera) | A: Trinity College B: Dublin Castle C: St Stephen's Green |
Tuesday was quite calm. The British had decided to surround the area of Dublin's city centre with the strongholds of the revolutionaries, split it in half and mop the place clean. Trinity College served as the wedge.
On Wednesday the British counterstroke began.
Liberty Hall, the headquarters of the Labour Party and trade unions, and several surrounding civilian buildings were destroyed. St Stephen's Green had been cleared of rebels, who retreated into the Royal College of Surgeons, and established a stronghold there. For the untrained reinforcements which had arrived it was impossible to differentiate between revolutionaries without uniforms and civilians. Everybody became a target.
The fourth day of the Easter Rising - Thursday - attacks were made on the Boland's Flour Mill, the South Dublin Union and the General Post Office (GPO). James Connolly got wounded twice at these attacks, but with the aid of morphine he carried on.
On Friday James Connolly and Pádraic Pearse escaped from the General Post Office (GPO) and found shelter in a nearby building. In King's Street, near the Four Courts, the last fierce battle took place.
James Connolly and Pádraic Pearse surrendered unconditionally on Saturday morning.
The Aftermath
The General Post Office after the Easter Rising.
(source: Irish Stamps)
After five days of intense fighting Dublin laid in ruins. For a local rising the number of casualties was extreme high. Approximately 130 soldiers and police officers lost their lives in the Easter Rising. The number of civilian casualties, including the fallen volunteers, varies from 180 up to 450.
Especially the large number of civilian victims is stunning and the cause was veiled in mist until 2001. In that year the Public Record Office opened the War Office files, which gave insight in the combat instructions given to the British soldiers. The instructions given by the commanding officer, General Low, were explicit: by their [the rebels] actions they had placed themselves outside the law, and that they were not to be made prisoners.. Hence, the slightest suspicion was sufficient to get executed on the spot.
About 90 men were trailed by court martial for treason and collaboration with the enemy and 15 of them were sentenced to death by firing squad. Between 3 May and 12 May 1916 14 of the Leaders of 1916 were executed in Kilmainham Gaol.
Among the executed men were the seven signatories of the proclamation of Poblacht na hÉireann, or Irish Republic: Pádraic Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Thomas J. Clarke, Joseph Plunkett, Eamonn Ceannt, James Connelly and Sean Mac Diarmada. They are buried together with the other executed volunteers (Edward Daly, Michael O'Hanrahan, William Pearse, John MacBride, Con Colbert, Michael Mallin and Sean Hueston) at Arbour Hill Cemetery in Dublin.
The executions of Willie Pearse, who was by no means a leader, but just a man who had followed his brother, Joseph Plunkett, a sick and invalid man who had married Grace Gifford just hours before his execution, and James Connolly, who was unable to stand up in front of the firing squad due to his wounds and was shot while bound on a chair, disgusted Ireland.
Numerous songs refer to the Easter Rising. The Foggy Dew is however considered as the Easter Rising song.
Other songs, such as Boys of the Old Brigade, commemorate all Republicans killed during and executed after the Easter Rising, while Blood Stained Bandage is a tribute to the executed men. Leaders like Pádraic Pearse and James Connolly are memorised individually in songs.
Not the Easter Rising itself but the executions enabled the will power and the preparedness to make sacrifices needed to engage the British in the War of Independence.