Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising: How it Began and Why it Still Resonates Today

On Monday, April 24, 1916, a rebellious group of nationalists united as the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) with 1,600 followers, including the militant Irish Volunteer Force and the Irish Citizens Army (ICA), seized prominent government buildings in Dublin and clashed with British troops. That afternoon, Patrick Pearce, one of the principle organizers, stood on the steps of the General Post Office and read a proclamation of independence announcing a provisional government comprised of appointed members of the IRB. England declared martial law and over the course of a little more than two weeks as many as 2,000 people were killed, much of center-city Dublin was destroyed, and its leaders were executed. The turbulent story of an independent and democratic Ireland is a narrative that encompasses the whole of the twentieth century with the week of Easter, 1916, as its most pivotal event.

In 1800, England passed the Act of Unity. This placed Ireland with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom. Ireland had been ruled, in various forms, by England since the twelfth century; however, the passing of the Act also meant that Ireland lost its Parliament. It would then be ruled by the one located at Westminster, England. This created several nationalistic opposition factions through the nineteenth century, some for Home Rule and others for total independence. During that century, Europe experienced considerable increase in nationalism resulting, in some regions, civil unrest and violence. For Ireland, several bills were presented to Parliament in the late 1800s for Home Rule. None passed and the last presented in 1914 was interrupted by World War I. Home Rule was supported by most, but there were those who did not feel that went far enough and began to advocate full independence and a free Irish Republic. This more radical position became known as Republicanism and sometimes referred to as Fenianism, an umbrella term for nationalists and its many societies and secret organizations. The underground revolutionary group the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) began planning for rebellion which became the Easter Rising.

The story of Irish Republicanism and the Rising evolves within the political context of the day as well as the previous decades, which significantly influenced the perspectives of its leaders. The rise of socialism, particularly in regard to Marxist theory, became a potent motivator for independence from the imperialist power of the United Kingdom as well as empowering the impoverished working classes. A socialist triad between Dublin, Belfast, and Glasgow Scotland evolved from the 1907 Belfast dockers and carters strike. The incentive for Home Rule or independence became a shared political desire and grew out of the labor movements. The Dublin Lockout in 1913, a prelude to the Rising, was a dispute between approximately 20,000 industrial workers and around 300 employers beginning with tram car drivers and conductors walking out on Tuesday, August 26, 1913. The impact was not dramatic at first as the company owners instituted contingency plans to keep the cars running. The demonstration would have quickly dissolved if it had not been for one of its organizers, James Larkin, leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU). His talent for rhetoric was inspiring and effective. Larkin was radically nationalistic, a devoted Catholic, and incited by the failure of the strike to be sufficiently disruptive. On Saturday August 30th, 1913, Larkin compelled workers to riot in the Ringsend area which rapidly spread to other working class areas in the city. The next day the Dublin police and Irish constables injured somewhere between 400-600 people putting down the riot with baton charges. Two people died. The brutal event galvanized the various political factions and ideologies within the labor movement. The Lockout also gave rise to another leader of the Easter Rising, John Connolly.

John Connolly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents. He grew up in poverty and was largely self-educated. Connolly became involved with politics through the labor movement which brought him to the city of Dublin; he was invited to be a paid organizer of the Dublin Socialist Society. He was a Marxist theorist, trade union organizer, and became committed to Irish independence through his ideological stance. Previous to the Lockout, Connolly went to America organizing socialist and labor organizations including Irish centered ones. In Dublin, Connolly became associated with James Larkin; they together founded the Irish Citizens Army, an extremist militia group which played a crucial role in the Rising and was commanded by Connolly. He also was served as General Secretary of ITGWU. His rise in the movement stems from his expertise in leadership, although not as dynamic of an orator as Larkin. Connolly served in the British army, largely in Ireland, where he developed his tactical and military capabilities. He commanded the Dublin Brigade that marched from Liberty Hall to the General Post Office, and the strategic adjustments during the rebellion were led by Connolly. The Dublin Brigade lost only 9 people during the violence, a testimony to his leadership. Connolly, however, was severely wounded, and therefore executed later than the other instigators, although still suffering from his wounds and propped up on a chair when he faced the firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol with co-conspirator Seán MacDiarmada.

Also at the helm with Connolly was Dubliner Patrick Pearce. Pearce’s republicanism was borne out of an alternate experience and passion. His father was a self-taught sculptor and free-thinking bohemian type whose production was largely for ecclesiastic clients. Pearce’s path was one of a more erudite nature; he earned a scholarship to the Royal College to study law. He joined the Gaelic League after graduation and became involved with the revival of the Gaelic language establishing a school in 1908 for young boys. Pearce became increasingly radical advocating force as a means for independence. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1912 and rapidly rose in the ranks and was integral in the planning of the rising including with the Military Council. His leadership also included written essays justifying their position, negotiating and arranging arms from Germany for the rebellion as Germany was currently at war with England (an act that would be treasonous as a citizen of the UK). He also was President of the declared provisional government. Pearce was court martialed and found guilty on May 2, 1916 and executed on May 3 at Kilmainham Gaol alongside of Thomas Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh, two other revolutionary planners of the Rising. The three were the first of fifteen to be executed, all by May 12th. (90 death sentences were handed down in total; all but 15 were commuted including that of one woman, Constance Markievicz.)

Thomas MacDonagh, much like Pearce, was well-educated, a teacher and poet, and became fascinated with Gaelic heritage and language. This too was the root of his radicalization to Republicanism and he also joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913 after bearing witness to the brutality of the Lockout riots. After moving within the circles of more extreme viewpoints MacDonagh also joined the IRB where he became part of the secret military council that organized the rebellion and was a 2nd commandant in the Dublin Brigade. Tom Clarke, on the other hand, earned a reputation for insolence and was a proclaimed Fenian from his very young years when he learned to make bombs for which he served a prison term; he was caught possessing explosives, an experience that only reinforced his nationalist convictions. He served other terms as well for his radical activities. Clarke had, like Connolly, emigrated to America and became a naturalized US citizen in 1905 before returning to Ireland and having his hands in the 1916 Rising. It’s of no wonder why Clarke was one of the first to be convicted and put before the firing squad as he had be a known agitator and watched by the British.

The sweeping British approach to institute Martial law as well as the swift executions profoundly shaped Irish public opinion. The complicated and, at times, quite agitated, Anglo-Irish relationship was further strained. Most did not support the Rising and were upset at the chaos, violence, and loss of life that ensued; the rebellion did not create an impetus for a rapid rising-up of the populace across the country the leaders had expected. But, the mood of the people shifted. General John Maxwell, the British army officer who was dispatched to put down the rebellion and who had overseen the trials and ordered the executions–mostly held in secret due to the calamity of the prior two weeks. The blame was largely placed on him and he was perceived as an instrument of a tone deaf and harsh British rule. Moreover, Maxwell was also unable to fully control its handling; he was held responsible for the Portobello shootings, and in particular, the revered pacifist and writer Francis Sheehy-Skeffington as well as the reckless Guinness shootings of two workers and an officer by a jittery sergeant who rashly deemed them saboteurs. In the aftermath of the Rising was also the over-reaching arrests of more than 3,000 Irish, mostly men and some women, that the British claimed as Sinn Féiners, another nationalist group. There were also numerous deportations that included those guilty by only a personal association but not actively involved.

With the most provocative and active Irish rebels eliminated, the RBI largely dissipated, and the ICA defeated, organized Republicanism did not die. Consequently, this gave rise to the poised Sinn Féin. The group was not very relevant to the Easter Rising yet was still the most well-known anti-British nationalist organization. As the bitter resentment toward the British increased and respect for the rebels grew in the moments after the 1916 Rising, a reinvigorated movement coalesced in 1917 with Sinn Féin leading. They were well-organized and appealed to the Irish electorate’s aspiring independence. They won 73 of the 105 seats granted to Ireland and in December 1918 refused to attend Parliament in Westminster. In January 1919 the elected Sinn Féiners met and proclaimed themselves the Irish Parliament of an Irish Republic. The resulting Anglo-Irish War, 1919-1921, or Irish War of Independence, between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British concluded with the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was largely negotiated by Sinn Féin and its most notable revolutionary leader, Michael Collins, with British officials and the Prime Minister David Lloyd George. It did not grant full independence immediately and not for the all of the counties in Ireland. Full withdrawal from the British Commonwealth would be set to happen in 1949. Six counties, often referred to the as the Province of Ulster, remained within the United Kingdom. Michael Collins became the Chairman of the Provisional Government from January 1922 until his assassination in August of the same year by anti-treaty Republicans; he was attacked in his native county of Cork in the South. The Republicans became split: those who supported the Treaty and those vehemently in opposition.

Today, there is a free, sovereign Republic of Ireland with a population of over four million people. Albeit not an economic or political power in Europe or globally, the country is a peaceful, thriving land with a rich and distinct culture; Irish is an official language with English. However, the one fifth of the Emerald Island that remained under British control, now known as Northern Ireland, has been a point of continued contention and there persisted a brutal struggle for full independence for all of Ireland. Sinn Féin, an official party in the Republic of Ireland and more popular with Catholics, is banned by the United Kingdom and seen as an entity contributing toward the discord as well as considered to be tied to the IRA, which was deemed a terrorist organization of fanatics, typically of the Catholic faith, and frequently behind bombings. From the 1960s through the 1990s, there arose an increased cycle of violence often with militant responses. Thousands have died in the conflict, many of whom were caught in the crossfire. Finally, talks advanced under Tony Blair and the Labour Party government with the main Irish nationalist parties such as Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionist Party, and in 1998, with the Good Friday Agreement, reconciliation and compromise created more democratic representation for Northern Ireland calming the fighting and bloodshed.

Ireland has fought hard, stubbornly, with great passion, and so very long for greater freedom. The methods and means, however questionable, reveals the people’s innate independent spirit.