50 facts about Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising

One hundred and eight years ago, on Easter week, the 1916 Rising took place bringing the for Ireland's indepen‐ dence to Dublin's streets. How many of these facts did you know?

Here are some important facts of the Rising with you-some well-known, oth‐ ers more obscure.

1. The seven members of the Irish Re‐ publican Brotherhood Military Council who planned the Rising were Thomas Clarke , Seán McDermott , Patrick Pearse , Eamonn Ceannt , Joseph Plun‐ kett , James Connolly , and Thomas Mac‐ Donagh . All were executed after the Rising.

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Padraig Pearse.

2. MacDonagh and Plunkett were poets. Pearse was a poet and writer as well as a schoolteacher.

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Joseph Mary Plunkett.

3. Connolly was born in Scotland but made Ireland his home. He also lived for long stretches in the US.

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James Connolly.

4. Thomas Clarke also lived in the US for long periods starting the Brooklyn Gael‐ ic Society in 1902. He was English-born. 10

Thomas Clarke.

5. Éamon de Valera , who participated in the Rising and later became a prominentfi

gure in Irish politics, was born in New York and therefore an American citizen. This fact e saved him from being exe‐ cuted with his brothers in arms, though historians disagree on this point.

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Eamon De Valera in 1937.

6. De Valera went on to break away from the government following the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty that implemented partition in Ireland. He would form Fian‐ na Fáil, serve as Taoiseach (Prime Min‐ ister) and later, as President of Ireland.

7. Before his execution, McDermott wrote, "I feel happiness the like of which I have never experienced. I die that the Irish nation might live!”

8. WB Yeats wrote his famous poem “A Terrible Beauty” after he heard about the rising. “All changed, changed utterly a terrible beauty is born.”

9. The Easter Rising made the front page of The New York Times several days in a row.

10. Joseph Plunkett married his ancée Grace Giff ord at Kilmainham Gaol eight hours before his execution.

11. She wore her widow’s mourning clothes for the rest of her life.

12. The IRB Military Council declared themselves the "Provisional Government of the Irish Republic" and signed the Proclamation of the Irish Republic .

13. It is the only proclamation of its era that mentions women equally, beginning “Irishmen and Irishwomen.”

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Easter Proclamation of 1916. (Public

Domain)

14. While Germany and England clashed in WWI, the IRB Military Council hoped to get German military backing during the insurrection through an AmericanIrish Republican Group called Clan na Gael, whose members had already es‐ tablished a relationship with German of‐ cials.

15. The IRB Military Council initially planned to begin the insurrection on Good Friday, April 21, 1916, but eventu‐ ally decided on Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916.

16. After hearing the news that a ship carrying German weaponry was cap‐ tured, the Military Council decided to carry out the insurrection on Monday, April 24, 1916, in an emergency meet‐ ing held on Sunday morning, April 23.

17. A countermanding order by Eoin Mac Neill, head of the Irish Volunteers, after a German gunship bearing arms to Ire‐ land, was intercepted caused mass con‐ fusion and resulted in many volunteers missing the Rising. IrishCentral History

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18. IRB Military Council member and President of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, Patrick Pearse , read the newly drawn up Proclamation, which outlined the establishment of an independent Irish Republic, to a small crowd at the steps of Dublin’s General Post Offi ce (GPO) on Monday, April 24, 1916.

19. The Proclamation itself outlined who was responsible for igniting the rising and referenced the Irish Republic’s po‐

tential ally of Germany. These details of the proclamation, considered to be trea‐ son, ensured certain death by ring squad for the leaders of the Irish Repub‐ lic if independence was not obtained.

20. The proclamation called for the Irish abroad to rally to the cause especially the “Exiled children in America.”

21. The Rising began when members of IRB, Irish Volunteer Force, and Irish Cit‐ izen Army successfully took over the preselected buildings around Dublin with little resistance.

22. The buildings included the General Post Offi ce, the Four Courts, Jacob’s Factory, Boland’s Mill, the South Dublin Union, St. Stephen’s Green, and the Col‐ lege of Surgeons. Both military strategy and position were the factors that came into play in choosing which buildings to occupy.

23. The General Post Offi ce (GPO) be‐ came the main headquarters of the re‐ bellion, with ve of the seven members of the Military Council/Provisional Gov‐ ernment of the Irish Republic serving there.

24. The British authorities only had 400 troops to about 1,000 Irish rebels when the rising began and therefore couldn’t go on the off ensive until reinforcements arrived.

25. By Friday, April 28, 1916, the num‐ ber of British troops rose to about 19,000 while the Irish Republic groups had only amassed 1,600 ghters due to mass confusion over the date of the Ris‐ ing.

26. The British troops were commanded by Brigadier-General William Lowe.

27. Ashbourne, Co. Meath was the only town other than Dublin to see signifi cantfi

ghting during the Easter Rising.

28. Among those in junior positions in the GOP was 24-year-old Michael Collins , who served by Connolly’s side. 10

Michael Collins.

29. Connolly, the commander of the Dublin Brigade, was injured early on in the ghting. The position of highest in command then passed on to Pearse.

30. Connolly was so badly injured that he was carried to his execution on a stretcher and then tied to a chair to face the ring squad.

31. The Rising's failure outside of Dublin was due to the capture of a ship loaded with Russian rifl es acquired by Germany in the war.

32. British offi cials had intelligence about the ship coming from Germany and captured it before any guns reached the shore of Banna Strand outside Tralee in Co Kerry.

33. In charge of the gun-running from

Germany was Sir Roger Casement, a top British foreign service offi cial, who was later executed.

34. Casement’s “black diaries,” purport‐ edly from his time in the Belgian Congo and Peru, allegedly revealed he was gay and were used against him at trial. They were kept classifi ed by the British gov‐ ernment until 1959.

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Roger Casement. (Getty Images)

35. In Dublin, the deadliest battles took place at Mount Street Bridge.

36. A British strategic attack that in‐ cluded artillery strikes on the main rebel stronghold, The General Post Offi ce, led to an unconditional surrender on Satur‐ day, April 29 by Irish Republican lead‐ ers, who had escaped the burning build‐ ing for nearby Moore Street.

37. The order to surrender, from Pearse, was carried by a nurse, Elizabeth O’Far‐ rell , to the other strongholds, which were still under rebel control.

38. It read: “In order to prevent the fur‐ ther slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in the hope of saving the lives of our fol‐ lowers now surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, the members of the Pro‐ visional Government present at head‐ quarters have agreed to an uncondition‐ al surrender, and the commandants of the various districts in the City and County will order their commands to lay down arms.”

39. The Irish rebels suff ered 64 casual‐ ties.

40. 132 British offi cers perished.

41. With battles primarily taking place in densely populated areas , the civilian death toll of the Rising was said to be as high as 254 people, and over 2,000 civilians were injured.

42. The Easter Rising was considered a betrayal at rst by many Irish citizens, and the 1916 leaders were spat at on their way to jail. It was only when the executions began that the national mood changed.

43. Sixteen leaders of the rising were executed while about 3,000 more were arrested in connection to the groups.

44. Many of the leaders believed in the eff ectiveness of a "blood sacrifi ce" to in‐ spire Irish nationalism. Blood sacrifi ce was a very common theme of the times from the First World War. The severe punishment of "death by being shot" served to those leading the rising in‐ spired both Irish nationalism and British resentment, just as the Military Council hoped.

45. Songs were sung for those who laid down their lives, funds were started for their families, more republican ags and badges began appearing, recruitment to the British Armed Forces dropped, and Irish nationalism as a whole was rejuve‐ nated.

46. Women played a key role in the Ris‐ ing, with over 200 members of Cumann na mBan , the women’s auxiliary branch of the Irish Volunteers, ghting for Irish independence.

47. Countess Constance Markievicz , who had been second in command to Michael Mallin in St. Stephen’s Green, was ini‐ tially sentenced to death along with the other leaders of the Rising. Her sen‐ tence was changed to life in prison “on account of the prisoner’s sex.”

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Countess Constance Markievicz in 1918.

48. The unrest became so bad after the Rising that the British sent in the Black and Tans, a dreadful group of former prisoners, misfi ts, and felons to try and quiet the rebellion.

49. In 1917, the British government granted amnesty to those who had fought in the Rising and all remaining prisoners were released.

50. The Easter Rising was a major fac‐ tor in Sinn Féin’s victory in the 1918 parliamentary elections and subsequent decision to not sit in the United King‐ dom’s Parliament. *Originally published inApril2015.Up‐ datedApril2024.