The newspapers in Dublin and Belfast denounced the Easter Rising. Those involved in the Rising were arrested, many locals hurling abuse at them as they led away. The Easter Rising took place in Dublin, and a few outposts across the country, between Monday 24 April and Sunday 29 April, 1916. Pearse and 14 other leaders of the rebellion were court-martialed and executed by British authorities in the weeks that followed. It was carried out by members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and members of the Irish Citizens Army. The split over the Treaty, which had led to the creation of the Irish Free State, would not only lead to Civil War, but also to claims, from both sides of the Treaty divide, that they were the true inheritors and custodians of the spirit of 1916. Maxwell was a ruthless man with an arrogant streak. The Rising: 1916. RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. It failed in less than a week. For a week battle raged in the Irish capital until the Rising collapsed. British artillery bombardments compelled Pearse and his colleagues to surrender on April 29. The fighting was fierce, particularly around Mount Street Bridge and North King Street, where the death rate on both sides, and amongst civilians, was highest. Redmond backed Irish participation in the War, and the vast majority supported that decision. The high levels of artillery used by the British led to a huge number of fires around the Sackville Street area. The Irish Volunteers, the smaller of the two forces resulting from the September 1914 split over s… (Image: UCD Postcard Collection). Lord Wimborne, the Lord Lieutenant, declared martial law on Tuesday evening and handed over civil power to Brigadier-General W. H. M. Lowe. The Rising When the rising broke out on Easter Monday 1916, it was destined to be a much smaller affair than what had originally been planned. Corrections? British troops soon arrived to put down the rebellion, and for nearly a week Dublin was paralyzed by street fighting. (Image: National Library of Ireland, EPH F339). 1912. Photo: National Library of Ireland, KE 119, The Easter Rising took place in Dublin, and a few outposts across the country, Redmond backed Irish participation in the War, civilians who paid the highest price during Easter week, The National Library of Ireland, The 1916 Rising: Personalities and Perspectives, Abducted women released unhurt, but distressed and hungry, Dublin’s homeless crisis becoming more acute, Briand appointed French Prime Minister for fourth time, Prohibition one year on - 14,000 illicit distillers now at work in United States, NEWSLETTER: Subscribe and get Century Ireland straight to your inbox, RTÉ History Show: The Women’s Suffrage Movement, WATCH: Centenary Commemoration of the Soloheadbeg Ambush, Explainer: The Democratic Programme of the First Dáil, Department of the Century, Heritage and Gaeltacht. Hence, the Easter Rising is simultaneously crucifixion and resurrection, reality and archetype. A soldier drives through Trinity College Dublin. Charles Townshend, Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion (London, 2006). Britannica now has a site just for parents! (Image: National Library of Ireland, INDH 0009). Easter Rising, also called Easter Rebellion, Irish republican insurrection against British government in Ireland, which began on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, in Dublin. Eoin MacNeill thought not, and issued a countermanding order that was published in the Irish Sunday Independent on Easter Sunday. It was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland and was defeated after a swift British military response. The years leading up to the rebellion against British rule in Ireland in April 1916 were marked by significant political, cultural and military developments in Ireland and throughout Europe. The original idea was to have a … The Rising As a military campaign the Rising was ultimately a failure but it had an important legacy in that the British response to the event turned the majority of the Irish public away from the idea of Home Rule and towards the concept of a fully independent Irish Republic. In the Proclamation, Ireland’s “children” and the “exiled children in America” join forces as the Easter Rising begins. MacBride was a nationalist hero before the Easter Rising for his part in commanding the Irish Brigade which fought with the Boers in South Africa. The Party fully endorsed the idea of Irish Home Rule, and had successfully managed to get a Home Rule Bill passed by the House of Commons and made law in 1914. Women of the Easter Rising written by Mary Smith April 12, 2020 Focusing on the political influences of the time, and the impact these women had on the political movements they were part of, Mary Smith looks back at the women of Ireland’s Easter Rising, seeking to add to the long neglected ‘herstory’ of the period. In effect, is the Ireland of today the one that the men and women of 1916 dreamt of? …the rising took place, on Easter Monday 1916, only about 1,000 men and women were actually engaged. The insurrection was planned by Patrick Pearse, Tom Clarke, and several other leaders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, which was a revolutionary society within the nationalist organization called the Irish Volunteers; the latter had about 16,000 members and was armed with German weapons smuggled into the country in 1914. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... British soldiers behind an improvised barricade of barrels during the Easter Rising, 1916. Though the uprising itself had been unpopular with most of the Irish people, these executions excited a wave of revulsion against the British authorities and turned the dead republican leaders into martyred heroes. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The rebel leaders were executed soon afterwards, though in death their ideals quickly triumphed. Also, leaders such as Thomas Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada and Patrick Pearse were, at their heart, Republicans who fervently believed in the ideal of an Irish Republic and believed that the use of violence to achieve that goal was acceptable. The Easter Rising, or Easter Rebellion, was an Irish republican insurrection against British government in Ireland. Events. It started on April 24, 1916 and ended on April 29, 1916. Easter Rising, also called Easter Rebellion, Irish republican insurrection against British government in Ireland, which began on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, in Dublin. Initially the Rising was to have taken place on Easter Sunday. The combined ideologies of the three groups are best encapsulated in the Proclamation of the Irish Republic that was read out at the GPO on Easter Monday. To free his people from centuries of oppression, a young polio survivor sacrifices true love to mastermind a secret rebellion against the greatest empire the world has ever known. © RTÉ 2021. In total these three groups had approximately 1,200 active participants in the fighting during Easter week. Alternative Title: Easter Rebellion. Generally the British response to the Rising and the wider impact of World War One served to turn the public away from Redmond’s ideal of Home Rule and towards the more radical Republican rhetoric of Sinn Féin. It began on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, in Dublin , Ireland. The force that would come together and fight during the Easter Rising comprised the Irish Volunteers (under the leadership of Pearse), the Irish Citizen Army (led by James Connolly) and the women’s organisation Cumann na mBan. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The narrative proceeds almost on an hour-by-hour basis building up a picture which, while immensely detailed, is none the less presented with the greatest clarity. The Easter Rising was an ambitious attempt to spark an Ireland-wide rebellion and bring an end to British rule. The British Army claimed to lost 116 men along with 16 members of the RIC. The Easter Rising was an Irish rebellion against British rule staged in Dublin in April 1916, which accelerated moves toward securing Ireland's freedom from the British Empire. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The failure to control railway stations or the Dublin and Kingstown docks meant that once the British needed to move troops into the city in large numbers to quell the Rising they could do so relatively unimpeded. The Century Ireland project is an online historical newspaper that tells the story of the events of Irish life a century ago. Officers with the captured rebel flag on Sackville Street. It was officially declared a republic in 1949 and a member of the United Nations in 1955. The dominant force in Irish politics through to 1916 was the Irish Parliamentary Party led by John Redmond. The Easter Rising signaled the start of the republican revolution in Ireland. It was civilians who paid the highest price during Easter week. The Easter Rising was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland. Leaders of Easter Rising sentenced to death. Some buildings held by the rebels fell quickly, such as City Hall, while others resisted until they formally surrendered on Sunday 29 April. Many events occurred to mark the occasion. (Image: Manchester Guardian History of War. However, the failure of the Germans to land a shipment of weapons on the Kerry coast on Good Friday called into question whether the Rising could take place. Over 400 people are believed to have been killed during the rising. RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Media. The Easter Rising was virtually confined to Dublin. With thousands of troops in the city the question for the rebels was how long they could hold out for. The planning of the Rising was done by a small, radical group in the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and they looked to the Irish Volunteers (a movement that opposed Irish entry into the War and instead dedicated itself to the defence of Ireland) to undertake the military action. This not only destroyed the buildings of the street, but ultimately forced the rebels holding the GPO to evacuate the building on Friday evening. The spirit of 1916, and the military lessons learned from it, are central in understanding the Irish insurgency against Britain between 1919 and 1921 and the creation of an independent Irish Free State. In essence it seems that factors such as the rise of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the strength of Unionism on the island, the existence of the Irish Volunteers as an insurrectionary force, and the fact that the War was a distraction for the British authorities combined to make the Rising a possibility. The Participants An infamous document purporting to show that the British authorities in Dublin Castle were planning to clampdown on nationalists, including the Irish Volunteers. The Rising began on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. However, the ongoing losses in World War One, and the debates over the introduction of conscription in 1918 also led Irish people to question their ongoing relationship with Britain. The British had learned of the planned uprising and on April 21 arrested Irish nationalist Sir Roger Casement in County Kerry for running arms for the rebels. Note that Easter Day fell on 27 March in 2016 and on 23 April in 1916. The National Library of Ireland, The 1916 Rising: Personalities and Perspectives, #Onthisday in 1919 two policemen were shot dead in an attack by masked men in... More », In January 1921 the Irish War of Independence continued on with constant attacks... More », Despite prohibition being law in the United States for over a year by January... More ». Its enactment was postponed because of the outbreak of the First World War. These two organizations were supplemented by the Irish Citizen Army, an association of Dublin workers formed after the failure of the general strike of 1913, and by the small Sinn Féin party. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The insurrection was planned by Patrick Pearse, Tom Clarke, and several other leaders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, which was a revolutionary society within the nationalist organization called … Yeats traced the movement of hard-nosed realism to mythography through the poem. The Easter Rising is a double entendre on the holiday; the “terrible beauty” was “born” during Holy Week, which marks the occasion of Christ’s sacrifice. The Irish Independent - owned by the Dublin entrepreneur William Martin Murphy - … Pearse surrendered on Saturday afternoon to avoid any further loss of civilian life. It took place in the capital city, Dublin. The British began pouring troops from across Ireland into the city from Monday afternoon, and from England by the dawn of Wednesday. Responsibility for the planning of the rising was given to Tom Clarke and Sean Mac Dermott. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Legacy There has been much historical debate about why the Rising was planned. The General Post Office and other parts of Dublin were seized; street fighting continued for about a week until Tom Clarke, Patrick Pearse, and other republican leaders…. Meáin Náisiúnta Seirbhíse Poiblí na hÉireann. The Easter Rising was just the beginning but it would take years and more blood shed for a free Republic to be born. The story is told from the perspectives of a group of fictional characters who live through the political events of the 1916 Easter Rising. 2016 marks the centenary of the Easter Rising in Ireland, when a small band of republicans’ brief insurrection over Easter Week 1916 resulted in their declaration of independence from Great Britain to form the Irish Republic (Poblacht na hÉireann). Full collection available in the National Library of Ireland). For additional information, please visit the GAC Library. A provisional Irish government was proclaimed. The Supreme Council of the IRB met on 5 September 1914, a month after the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. A small group of nationalists opposed the idea of Home Rule, as well as Irish participation in the War. The complexity over the legacy of 1916 begins in earnest at this point. The Easter Rising was a major factor in Sinn Féin ’s victory in the 1918 parliamentary elections and subsequent decision to not sit in the United Kingdom’s Parliament. Omissions? Michael Foy and Brian Barton, The Easter Rising (Dublin, 2011). The Easter Rising was a rebellion in Dublin, Ireland at Easter in 1916. Rory Sweetman revisits the story of the Easter Rising and the threats posed to Trinity College during that fateful week. Equally the failure to take the HQ of the British administration, Dublin Castle, or a significant central building that was stocked with arms, Trinity College, hampered the rebels and both those buildings would be important bases for British forces during the week. Trinity was very weakly held by some Officer Training Corps and if attacked early in the week might easily have been taken. The executions of the rebel leadership and the arrest of over 3,000 people in the wake of the Rising also served to radicalise public opinion. The Rising was planned by the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood which featured, among others, Thomas Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada, Patrick Pearse and James Connolly. The leaders and organisers of the Rising. Because Eamon de Valera was the senior survivor of the rising, he gained much of his personal popularity with the Irish people from that event. This is an impartial and well-researched examination of the events and persons associated with this great event in Irish history. During Easter Week 1916 Michael Taaffe, a … The insurrection was planned by Patrick Pearse, Tom Clarke, and several other leaders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The rebellion was quickly crushed by British forces and was considered a failure at first. In the end, the rebels were beaten. I can think of few other books that can rival Barton and Foy's Easter Rising for historical detail and broad scope- two things that are rarely done well together. Stars: Michael Ford-FitzGerald, Jaelynne Wallace Ruane, Jordanne Jones, Brian Gleeson Once they had left the GPO the Rising was effectively over. It began on April 24, 1916, which was the day after Easter that year, and lasted five days. At this meeting they decided to stage a rising before the war ended and to accept whatever help Germany might offer. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Mr. Ward sees the 1916 Easter Rising, although not especially successful at the time, as a pivotal point in Ireland's history, galvanizing those in the Catholic south to push for their independence, and fortifying those in the Protestant north in their allegiance to the British crown. 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