Easter Rising 1916
The events of Easter Week, 1916, have long been an inspiration to
Irish republicans and liberation movements around the world. The
Proclamation of the Irish Republic, read by P.H. Pearse on Easter
Monday, 24th April, 1916, remains both an inspirational and revolutionary
document to this day. The rising was the culmination of years of
planning and organisation, not to mention a lifetime of work by
veteran Fenian, Thomas Clarke.
The scuttling of the Aud, carrying arms and munitions, combined
with the disarray caused by Eoin MacNeill's countermanding order,
had severely reduced any hope the insurgents had held for the military
success of the Rising. Nonetheless, on Easter Monday, they pressed
ahead with their plans. The fighting lasted for one week. The unconditional
surrender document was signed at 3:45pm on April 29th ‘in
order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in
the hope of saving the lives of our followers now surrounded and
hopelessly outnumbered’.
Whilst the Rising failed militarily, it catapulted Irish republicanism
to the centre stage of the political landscape. Thus, it succeeded
in creating a revolutionary climate in which to prosecute a liberation
struggle. The politics of the Redmondites had been eclipsed by the
politics of those who had been executed for their part in the Rising.
The politics of the Irish Republic were foremost in the minds of
the majority of the population. This revolutionary climate was reflected
both in the landslide republican victory in the General Election
of 1918, and in the gradual shift towards the resumption of military
hostilities with Britain.
Please click on the links below to access documents related to this
topic:
|
