A history of the Irish Rebellion of 1916

Each story keeps the passage it was read from. Open one to read the passage as the book has it, and, where the companion has written its own telling, that too.

1. Massacre at Dunanore Fort, Smerwick

   Smerwick · townland · Kerry · 1580

   A force of about seven hundred Spanish and Italian soldiers landed at Smerwick in Kerry and occupied the fort of Dunanore. After being besieged for six weeks with no local rising to support them, they surrendered and were slaughtered en masse by Lord Grey.

   Read the passage

   Spaniards and Italians who landed in October, 1580, from four vessels at Smerwick, and also occupied the fort of Dunanore, where, after waiting for six weeks in the hope of a rising by the neighbouring peasantry — who, however, had been too thoroughly crushed to join the invaders — the force was invested by land and sea, and slaughtered en masse by Lord Grey upon its surrender.

   Twenty years later, during the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, the great Earl of Tyrone, on the 23rd of September, 1601, a Spanish fleet entered the harbour of Kinsale with three thousand four hundred troops under the command of Don Juan del Aguila. The Spaniards immediately took possession of the town and of the castles of Baltimore, Castlehaven, and Dunboy. Del Aguila was besieged, but the northern earls came to his support in a famous march southwards, and the English army of investment was itself besieged in turn. Finally, by good luck more than anything else, the issue was decided in its favour in the battle of Kinsale, and del Aguila surrendered and returned to Spain, after having maintained himself in Ireland for more than three months. During the great rebellion beginning in 1641, in which Owen Roe O'Neill, nephew of the famous Earl of Tyrone, was the outstanding figure, the banished Irishmen who had risen to positions of great influence in the service of France, Spain and the Netherlands used their best efforts to secure foreign support. O'Neill himself at the outset held out hope of French help from Cardinal Richelieu, and, though no large bodies of foreign troops actually landed in Ireland, landings of officers, arms and stores from overseas were frequent.

   Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft

2. Vinegar Hill: Site of the 1798 Rebellion's Bloody Last Stand

   near Vinegar Hill · hill or hills · Wexford · 1798

   Vinegar Hill, overlooking Enniscorthy, was the chief rebel encampment in the 1798 Rebellion, held from late May until 21 June when it was attacked by General Lake's twenty thousand men. The rebels, though decimated by grape and musket fire, held out nearly two hours before escaping through what became known as 'Needham's Gap'.

   Read the passage

   At the approach of the military force from the south, the rebels evacuated the town of Enniscorthy, and took up their position on Vinegar Hill, an eminence rising over Enniscorthy at the opposite side of the Slaney, and the scene of the desperate encounter in the Rebellion of 1798. In that rebellion, the encampment on Vinegar Hill was the chief rebel station, being flanked by two others, Carrickbyrne Hill, eight miles from New Ross on the road to Wexford, and Carrigroe Hill, four miles east of Ferns. Vinegar Hill in '98 was held from about the end of May until the 21st of June, when it was attacked by General Lake with twenty thousand men operating in converging columns. One of these columns, that of General Needham, failed to reach its station at the proper time. The other columns attacked the encampment, where the rebels, although they were almost without ammunition, and their ranks were decimated by a heavy fire of grape and musketry, maintained the unequal fight for nearly two hours, after which they made good their escape to Wexford, by way of what came to be called " Needham'sGap.3>

   Before action was joined on this historic ground . however, news arrived from Dublin of the surrender in the capital and the order of P. H. Pearse to his followers in the country to lay down their

   Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 95

   As the companion tells it

   As you come up along here, the road passes near Vinegar Hill, the high ground rising over Enniscorthy across the Slaney. In the Rebellion of 1798, this was the chief rebel encampment. When the military force approached from the south, the rebels evacuated Enniscorthy and took up their position on the hill. They held it from about the end of May until the 21st of June. The encampment was flanked by two other rebel stations: Carrickbyrne Hill, eight miles from New Ross on the road to Wexford, and Carrigroe Hill, four miles east of Ferns. On the 21st of June, General Lake attacked with twenty thousand men moving in converging columns. One of those columns, under General Needham, failed to reach its station at the proper time. The remaining columns pressed the attack. The rebels were almost without ammunition, and their ranks were decimated by heavy fire of grape and musketry. Still, they maintained the unequal fight for nearly two hours. After that, they made good their escape to Wexford, by way of what came to be called Needham's Gap.

3. Casement, Bailey and Monteith land at Ardfert strand

   Ardfert · town · Kerry · 1916

   Casement, Bailey and Monteith were put ashore from a German submarine onto the sands of Ardfert around 2 o'clock on the morning of Good Friday, 1916, in rough weather that capsized their collapsible boat. They waded ashore and buried recovered pistols, ammunition, maps and a flag on the strand.

   Read the passage

   The expedition arrived off the south-west coast of Ireland during the night of April 20th-21st, by which time the authorities were fully advised of its pending appearance. The three passengers in the submarine, Casement, Bailey and Monteith, were put off in a collapsible boat to land on the sands of Ardfert about 2 o'clock on the morning of Good Friday. It was very rough weather and the boat capsized in the surf. The three men, however, were able to wade ashore. They recovered from their swamped boat three Mauser pistols, ammunition, a flash lamp, maps and a large green Irish flag, and buried these articles on the strand. Monteith and Bailey proceeded to Tralee to meet the local leader of the Volunteers, while Casement remained near the place of landing in a rath known as MacKenna's Fort. From Tralee, although the police were on the watch for the conspirators, Monteith disappeared, and, after remaining in hiding during the period of the rebellion, subsequently made good his escape from Ireland.

   This incident provided a curious instance of the manner in which the rebellions of 1798 and 1916, while they differed widely in essentials, bore marked resemblance in point of detail. In 1798 Wolfe Tone, like Casement in 1916, negotiated with the enemies of Great Britain in time of war, and, like Casement, he approached the shores of Ireland in an enemy ship, hoping to help a rebellion. Tone, like Casement, was accompanied by two other rebel agents, and in his case, as in that of Casement, one of these companions eluded

   Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 70

   As the companion tells it

   As you come through Ardfert, this is where three men came ashore from a German submarine in the early hours of Good Friday, 1916. Casement, Bailey and Monteith had been aboard the submarine heading for the south-west coast. The authorities already knew they were coming. Around 2 o'clock on the morning of April 21st, the three were put off in a collapsible boat to land on the sands here. The weather was very rough and the boat capsized in the surf. They managed to wade ashore. From the swamped boat they recovered three Mauser pistols, ammunition, a flash lamp, maps and a large green Irish flag, and they buried these articles on the strand. Monteith and Bailey went on to Tralee to meet the local leader of the Volunteers. Casement stayed near the landing place, in a rath known as MacKenna's Fort. The police in Tralee were watching for them. Monteith disappeared, stayed hidden through the rebellion, and afterwards escaped from Ireland. The book this comes from draws a parallel with 1798. Wolfe Tone, like Casement, negotiated with the enemies of Great Britain in time of war, approached the shores of Ireland in an enemy ship, hoping to help a rebellion. Tone, like Casement, was accompanied by two other rebel agents, and in his case, as in Casement's, one companion eluded.

4. Fatal Shooting on Bachelor's Walk

   Bachelor's Walk · street · Donegal · 1914

   After troops failed to seize gun-running weapons from Volunteers at Howth, they were attacked by a mob while returning to barracks and opened fire, killing several members of the public on Bachelor's Walk in Dublin. The incident led to the suspension of Assistant Commissioner Harrel and a Royal Commission inquiry.

   Read the passage

   An attempt was made by the Dublin Metropolitan Police acting under orders of Mr. W. V. Harrel, the Assistant Commissioner, to enforce the Proclamation by seizure. After trying fruitlessly to obtain the co-operation of a detachment of the Royal Irish Constabulary he called in a military force to assist him, and a few arms were taken, but most of the Volunteers retired with the weapons before the arrival of the military. Whilst the troops were returning to barracks they were attacked by a mob and an unfortunate incident occurred by which some members of the public lost their lives through shots from the soldiers in Bachelor's Walk. Mr. Harrel was immediately suspended by the Chief Secretary pending further investigation. A Royal Commission was appointed to enquire into this matter, and sat from the 6th to the llth August, 1914. In their report which was submitted to Your Majesty, Mr. Harrel was censured by the Commission for his conduct in invoking the assistance of the troops, and he resigned his position. The Chief Commissioner — Sir John Ross, of Bladensburg — had previously resigned his position after the order of temporary suspension had been issued against Mr. Harrel. The resignation of Mr. Harrel was looked upon by the public in Dublin as tantamount to dismissal, and while it appears that it had no effect on the loyalty of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, it tended to discourage the officers of that body from initiative in enforcing the law. Further, there can be no doubt that his dismissal tended to weaken the authority of the police, as it gave rise to the opinion amongst the more ignorant classes that in any case of disorder the Government might not support their action.

   In spite of the breach of the Proclamation of December, 1913, in the landing of arms at Howth, the Irish Government decided (as in the case of the arms imported at Larne) to take no action and to institute no prosecution, and on the 5th August, as has been above stated, the restriction upon the importation of arms into Ireland was removed.

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   As the companion tells it

   Along this street, in 1914, soldiers fired on members of the public and killed several people. It happened after the Dublin Metropolitan Police tried to seize weapons from the Volunteers at Howth. The Assistant Commissioner, Mr. W. V. Harrel, had ordered the seizure to enforce a Proclamation. He tried first to get help from a detachment of the Royal Irish Constabulary, but failed. He then called in a military force. A few arms were taken, but most of the Volunteers retired with the weapons before the military arrived. As the troops were returning to barracks, they were attacked by a mob. On Bachelor's Walk, the soldiers opened fire, and members of the public lost their lives. Mr. Harrel was immediately suspended by the Chief Secretary pending further investigation. A Royal Commission was appointed to enquire into the matter, and sat from the 6th to the 11th of August, 1914. In their report, the Commission censured Harrel for his conduct in invoking the assistance of the troops, and he resigned his position. The Chief Commissioner, Sir John Ross of Bladensburg, had already resigned after the order of temporary suspension was issued against Harrel. The public in Dublin saw Harrel's resignation as tantamount to dismissal. It had no effect on the loyalty of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, but it discouraged the officers of that body from taking initiative in enforcing the law. It also weakened the authority of the police, as it gave rise to the opinion that in any case of disorder the Government might not support their action. The Irish Government decided to take no action and institute no prosecution over the landing of arms at Howth, and on the 5th of August the restriction on the importation of arms into Ireland was removed.

5. Bachelor's Walk Shooting

   Bachelor's Walk · street · Donegal · 1914

   Soldiers returning from intercepting Volunteers who had landed guns at Howth fired on a hostile crowd at Bachelor's Walk in Dublin, killing three men and injuring many others. This became one of the most notorious incidents of the pre-war period.

   Read the passage

   to the fields and made their way into town by circuitous routes. It was when the soldiers were on their return march at 6.30 that the shooting affray at Bachelor's Walk took place. Some of the soldiers fired on a hostile crowd, killing three men and injuring many others.

   Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 23

   As the companion tells it

   Along here, soldiers returning from Howth at 6.30 on their march back fired on a hostile crowd at Bachelor's Walk, killing three men and injuring many others. It became one of the most notorious incidents before the Rising.

6. Execution of Pearse, MacDonagh and Clarke

   Dublin · city · Dublin · 1916

   On 3 May 1916 it was officially announced in Dublin that Pearse, MacDonagh and Clarke, signatories of the Proclamation, had been tried by Field Court-Martial, sentenced to death, and shot that morning. The bald announcement provoked profound shock among Nationalists.

   Read the passage

   On Wednesday, May 3rd, four days after the surrender of the rebels, it was officially announced in Dublin that " three signatories of the notice proclaiming the Irish Republic, P. H. Pearse, T. MacDonagh, and T. J. Clarke, have been tried by Field Court-Martial and sentenced to death. The sentence having been duly confirmed the three above-mentioned men were shot this morning." That brief announcement may be said to have begun the great revulsion of Irish National feeling which subsequently swept over the whole country and went far towards securing in their death the objects which the leaders of the Rebellion had failed to secure in their lives. It was not so much the fact of the executions as the manner of them and their announcement which shocked a considerable section of the Irish public. Had the rebel leaders been tried in public even by a Military Court ; had it been possible to try them all while the tragic events of the Rebellion were fresh in the public mind; had their association with Germany and the extreme gravity of their action in relation to the European war been clearly stated and brought home to the Irish people which, if the sacrifice of soldiers on the battlefields of Europe be a test, had unmistakably proved where lay its sympathies in the war — had such a course been followed the executions, while they might still have been criticised, would probably not have produced so profound a stir among peaceable Nationalists. It was the bald announcement of the executions, following upon the complete secrecy which invests the proceedings of " drumhead " Courts-martial, with no statement whatever of the degree of guilt which justified the infliction of the capital penalty, that aroused National sentiment.

   The effects of the executions, moreover, were

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   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Dublin, this is the city where, on 3 May 1916, it was officially announced that Pearse, MacDonagh and Clarke — three signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic — had been tried by Field Court-Martial, sentenced to death, and shot that morning. It was four days after the surrender of the rebels. The announcement was brief and cold, and it shocked a considerable section of the Irish public. It was not so much the fact of the executions as the manner of them that provoked the reaction. The leaders had been tried in complete secrecy, with no public statement of the degree of guilt that justified the death penalty. Had they been tried in public, even by a military court, the executions might still have been criticised but would probably not have produced so profound a stir among peaceable Nationalists. Instead, the bald announcement, following on that secrecy, began what the record calls the great revulsion of Irish National feeling, which swept over the whole country and went far towards securing in death the objects the leaders of the Rebellion had failed to secure in life.

7. Humbert lands at Killala and surrenders at Ballinamuck

   Killala · town · Mayo · 1798

   General Humbert landed a French force of over a thousand men at Killala in County Mayo, too late to assist the 1798 rebellion, dispersed a militia force, and was ultimately surrounded and surrendered at Ballinamuck in County Longford.

   Read the passage

   utterly defeated at Camper down. Too late to assist the rebellion in 1798, General Humbert with a French force of rather more than a thousand men landed at Killala in County Mayo, and, after dispersing a force of militia, was surrounded and surrendered at Ballinamuck in County Longford. Soon afterwards a larger French expedition, under Admiral Bompart, with nine ships and three thousand men, was engaged and defeated off Lough S willy.

   Humbert's was the last French expedition which landed in Ireland, but it was not the last which contemplated such a landing. Robert Emmet, when he arrived in Ireland in 1802 to organise the insurrection of the following year, had just returned from France, and had hopes of aid from Napoleon; it was the accidental explosion of one of his ammunition depots which precipitated the rising in July, 1803, instead of in August, by which time he expected invasion from France. In that August Nelson wrote to Addington:— ' My station to the westward of Toulon, an unusual one, has been taken upon the idea that the French fleet is bound out of the Straits, and probably to Ireland. ' ' In October he wrote :— ' 'Their destination, is it Ireland, or the Levant? That is what I want to know." Collingwood is quoted by Mahan as being equally convinced that Napoleon's ultimate objective for Villeneuve's fleet was Ireland. Mahan maintained that as late as January, 1805, Nelson fully believed that "if the enemy left the Mediterranean, they would proceed to Ireland."

   Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 5

   As the companion tells it

   Up ahead is the town of Killala in County Mayo. In 1798, too late to assist the rebellion, General Humbert landed here with a French force of rather more than a thousand men. After dispersing a force of militia, he was surrounded and surrendered at Ballinamuck in County Longford. Soon afterwards a larger French expedition under Admiral Bompart, with nine ships and three thousand men, was engaged and defeated off Lough Swilly. Humbert's was the last French expedition which landed in Ireland, but it was not the last which contemplated such a landing. Robert Emmet, when he arrived in Ireland in 1802 to organise the insurrection of the following year, had just returned from France and had hopes of aid from Napoleon. It was the accidental explosion of one of his ammunition depots which precipitated the rising in July 1803 instead of in August, by which time he expected invasion from France. In that August Nelson wrote to Addington, "My station to the westward of Toulon, an unusual one, has been taken upon the idea that the French fleet is bound out of the Straits, and probably to Ireland." In October he wrote, "Their destination, is it Ireland, or the Levant? That is what I want to know." Collingwood was equally convinced that Napoleon's ultimate objective for Villeneuve's fleet was Ireland. As late as January 1805, Nelson fully believed that if the enemy left the Mediterranean, they would proceed to Ireland.

8. Pearse's unconditional surrender to General Lowe

   Dublin · city · Dublin · 1916

   After Major Hill's artillery battery bombarded rebel-held buildings, a Red Cross nurse brought a message from Pearse asking for terms; only unconditional surrender was accepted. Pearse surrendered himself at 2 p.m. and signed orders for the various rebel commands to surrender.

   Read the passage

   manded by Major Hill, who used his guns against the buildings held by the rebels with such good effect that a Red Cross Nurse brought in a message from the rebel leader, P. H. Pearse, asking for terms. A reply was sent that only unconditional surrender would be accepted. At 2 p.m. Pearse surrendered himself unconditionally, and was brought before me, when he wrote and signed notices ordering the various " Commandoes " to surrender unconditionally.

   During the evening the greater part of the rebels in the Sackville Street and Four Courts area surrendered.

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   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Dublin, this is where the 1916 Rising effectively ended. Major Hill's artillery battered the rebel-held buildings until a Red Cross nurse came through carrying a message from Pearse, asking for terms. The answer came back that only unconditional surrender would be accepted. At 2 p.m. Pearse gave himself up, and he wrote and signed notices ordering the various commands to surrender unconditionally. That evening, most of the rebels in the Sackville Street and Four Courts area laid down their arms.

9. Ambush and Deadly Battle Near Kilmoon

   Kilmoon · townland · Meath · 1916

   A police relief force travelling toward Ashbourne was ambushed near Kilmoon by rebels hidden in a roadside grove, leading to a five-hour pitched battle. Seven constabulary, including the District Inspector, were killed, fifteen wounded, and two civilians also died by accident in the crossfire.

   Read the passage

   not to end without serious fighting. Foiled in their action towards the coast, the rebels turned their attention inland towards County Meath, where no rising had taken place. On Friday, April 28th, the police authorities received information that Ashbourne Police Barracks was being attacked by a body of rebels from County Dublin, some hundred strong. A relief force was at once organised at Navan. The County Inspector, the District Inspector, and fifty Constabulary left in motor cars, proceeding by way of Slane and Balrath towards Kilmoon, where there was another small barracks a short distance from Ashbourne. Near Kilmoon the force was ambushed by the rebels. The motor cars had proceeded a short distance from Kilmoon, which is on an eminence, at the foot of which a lane branches off. The rebels had secreted themselves in a small grove by the roadside at this point. The police, on getting out of their motor cars at the ascent of the hill with the object of marching to Ashbourne, were surprised by a fusilade of bullets. Several were wounded immediately, and one killed. They took what cover they could behind their cars and in the ditches, and returned the rebel fire. The rebels, however, closed in on all sides, and their leader, a dispensary doctor by name Hayes, sent a messenger to the County Inspector demanding the surrender of his men. This demand was refused. A pitched battle lasting five hours followed, in the course of which seven of the constabulary, including the District Inspector, were killed, and fifteen wounded, the County Inspector mortally. The rebel losses are believed to have exceeded in dead alone the total number of police casualties. Two civilians were killed and a third mortally wounded by accident in the course of this bloody affray. The police fought until they had expended

   Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 93

10. Spanish fleet occupies Kinsale and nearby castles

    Kinsale · town · Cork · 1601

    During Hugh O'Neill's rebellion, a Spanish fleet entered the harbour of Kinsale with over three thousand troops under Don Juan del Aguila, who took possession of the town and the castles of Baltimore, Castlehaven, and Dunboy before being besieged.

    Read the passage

    Twenty years later, during the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, the great Earl of Tyrone, on the 23rd of September, 1601, a Spanish fleet entered the harbour of Kinsale with three thousand four hundred troops under the command of Don Juan del Aguila. The Spaniards immediately took possession of the town and of the castles of Baltimore, Castlehaven, and Dunboy. Del Aguila was besieged, but the northern earls came to his support in a famous march southwards, and the English army of investment was itself besieged in turn. Finally, by good luck more than anything else, the issue was decided in its favour in the battle of Kinsale, and del Aguila surrendered and returned to Spain, after having maintained himself in Ireland for more than three months. During the great rebellion beginning in 1641, in which Owen Roe O'Neill, nephew of the famous Earl of Tyrone, was the outstanding figure, the banished Irishmen who had risen to positions of great influence in the service of France, Spain and the Netherlands used their best efforts to secure foreign support. O'Neill himself at the outset held out hope of French help from Cardinal Richelieu, and, though no large bodies of foreign troops actually landed in Ireland, landings of officers, arms and stores from overseas were frequent.

    If we leave aside for a moment these two great episodes of Irish military history which most strikingly emphasise the strategic interdepen-

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 4

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up on Kinsale, the town on the harbour in Cork. In 1601, during the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, the great Earl of Tyrone, a Spanish fleet sailed into this harbour on the 23rd of September with 3,400 troops under the command of Don Juan del Aguila. The Spaniards immediately took possession of the town and of the castles of Baltimore, Castlehaven, and Dunboy. Del Aguila was besieged. But the northern earls came to his support in a famous march southwards, and the English army of investment was itself besieged in turn. Finally, by good luck more than anything else, the issue was decided in its favour in the battle of Kinsale. Del Aguila surrendered and returned to Spain, after having maintained himself in Ireland for more than three months. The same harbour would see more foreign involvement decades later, during the great rebellion beginning in 1641, when Owen Roe O'Neill, nephew of the Earl of Tyrone, became the outstanding figure. Banished Irishmen who had risen to influence in the service of France, Spain, and the Netherlands used their efforts to secure foreign support. No large bodies of foreign troops landed, but officers, arms, and stores came frequently from overseas.

11. The O'Rahilly killed in the fighting at the GPO

    General Post Office · site · Dublin · 1916

    The O'Rahilly, a committee member and former Sinn Féin collaborator, was the only member of the Provisional Committee killed during the actual fighting of the Rising. He died after risking his life alongside comrades despite having opposed the decision to take up arms.

    Read the passage

    of, had been one of Mr. Griffith's keenest collaborators, and it is, perhaps, significant in this connexion that The O'Rahilly, like Mr. Buhner Hobson — another former advocate of Sinn Feinshould have opposed the decision of the Committee to take the aggressive. The vote went against his views; but The O'Rahilly determined to risk all with his comrades. This circumstance, together with the stories that have been told of his generosity to the prisoners in the Post Office, is likely to confer upon him a fortunate memory. He was killed during the fighting — the only member of the Committee who did not survive the battle. The O'Rahilly was a well-travelled man, with American connexions, who had something of the air of the soldier of fortune; he had independent means, was a writer of occasional articles in the Sinn Fein Press, and had acquired a conversational knowledge of Irish.

    James Connolly and Sean MacDearmada were the two last of the signatories of the Republican Proclamation to be executed. Sentence upon them was carried out on May 12th. In the case of Connolly the delay, which was due to wounds received during the fighting, gave his friends in England an opportunity for raising a small agitation for reprieve. This agitation had, however, little chance of success, owing to the fact that Connolly had taken so important a part — perhaps the most important part — in the revolutionary conspiracy. Nevertheless, considerable feeling was aroused outside of Ireland by Connolly's death, and Captain White, an old worker at Liberty Hall, proceeded to Wales, and attempted to cause by way of a reprisal a strike among the miners. Sean MacDearmada had no influence of this kind. A native of Limerick, and one of the founders of the Volunteer movement, his associations were purely with Nationalist propaganda. Never did

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 49

    As the companion tells it

    Here, right beside the road, is the General Post Office in Dublin, and it was in the fighting here in 1916 that The O'Rahilly was killed. He had been one of Mr. Griffith's keenest collaborators, a man with American connexions, well travelled, with something of the air of a soldier of fortune. He had independent means, wrote occasional articles in the Sinn Féin Press, and had acquired a conversational knowledge of Irish. Like Mr. Bulmer Hobson, another former advocate of Sinn Féin, he opposed the decision of the Committee to take the aggressive. The vote went against his views, but he determined to risk all with his comrades. Stories have been told of his generosity to the prisoners in the Post Office, which is likely to confer upon him a fortunate memory. He was killed during the fighting, the only member of the Committee who did not survive the battle. James Connolly and Sean MacDearmada were the two last of the signatories of the Republican Proclamation to be executed. Sentence upon them was carried out on May 12th. In Connolly's case the delay, due to wounds received during the fighting, gave his friends in England an opportunity for raising a small agitation for reprieve. This had little chance of success, owing to the fact that Connolly had taken perhaps the most important part in the revolutionary conspiracy. Considerable feeling was aroused outside Ireland by Connolly's death, and Captain White, an old worker at Liberty Hall, proceeded to Wales and attempted to cause a strike among the miners by way of reprisal. Sean MacDearmada had no influence of this kind. A native of Limerick and one of the founders of the Volunteer movement, his associations were purely with Nationalist propaganda.

12. Deaths at Kent house near Fermoy

    Fermoy · townland · Cork · 1916

    During the siege of the Kent family's house near Fermoy, one occupant attempting to escape was shot and killed; another, Thomas Kent, was later tried by Court-martial for the murder of the Head Constable and executed.

    Read the passage

    stable was shot dead. On the arrival of military reinforcements, the occupants of the house, all of whom were wounded, surrendered. One who attempted to escape was shot and killed ; another was subsequently tried by Court-martial for the murder of the Head Constable and executed.

    The rest of the South of Ireland was quiet throughout the week of the Rebellion. Some unrest was apparent in Belfast and the southern districts of Ulster, and early in the week the police, acting under military instructions, made a large number of domiciliary visits in the city and suburbs of Belfast, arresting some thirty persons suspected of being connected with the rebellious movement. Though the situation in Ulster throughout was officially described as " normal," a serious outbreak threatened in County Tyrone, and prompt military measures were organised in Belfast to prevent a rising. Observations of the movements of some local Sinn Fein sympathisers prompted the conclusion that secret mobilisation might be in prospect in the mountains of Mid- Tyrone. The military authorities in Belfast issued an immediate appeal for motor transport, and within an hour, with the aid of civilian organisation and that of the Ulster Volunteers, over a hundred vehicles were placed at their disposal. A flying column of 300 men was thus despatched on Tuesday, April 25th, to Dungannon, where post office, telegraph and telephone business was prohibited, and to Cappagh, where a guard was mounted on the reservoir. The column pushed on to Carrickmore, where a search for concealed guns revealed three thousand rounds of ammunition in cases and bandoliers. For the remainder of the week military and police in motor transport were actively engaged in rounding up Volunteers in

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    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here, in 1916, the Kent family's house came under siege. Someone in the stable was shot dead. When military reinforcements arrived, the occupants of the house, all of whom were wounded, surrendered. One who attempted to escape was shot and killed. Another, Thomas Kent, was subsequently tried by Court-martial for the murder of the Head Constable and executed. The rest of the south of Ireland was quiet through that week, but this house was not.

13. Thurot's attack on Carrickfergus Castle

    Carrickfergus · townland · Antrim · 1760

    Thurot, a French commander of Irish descent, appeared off Carrickfergus with three ships, disembarked about a thousand men, attacked the castle and forced its surrender, then extracted provisions from Belfast under threat of burning both towns.

    Read the passage

    dence of Great Britain and Ireland — the Cromwellian war and the war of William and James— the tale of foreign expeditions to Ireland is taken up again with the expedition of Thurot in 1759-60. At this time a French army of invasion was collected at Vannes in Brittany, which was to be conveyed by a powerful fleet anchored at Brest under Admiral Conflans, while a smaller squadron of five vessels lay at Dunkirk under Thurot, an Irishman, whose real name was O'Farrell. Conflans was intercepted and defeated by Hawke off Quiberon Bay on the night of November 14th; Thurot eluded the British patrol, and, after being driven by storms to Bergen in Norway, appeared with three ships off Carrickfergus in February. He disembarked with about a thousand men, attacked the castle and compelled it to surrender, and, being unable to secure there enough provisions for his starving forces, obtained them from Belfast under threat of burning both that town and Carrickfergus. After five days the French re-embarked, and were subsequently intercepted and engaged off the Isle of Man, when Thurot was killed and his ships captured. Finally, the Rebellion of 1798 was undertaken with the promise of foreign support. In 1796 Wolfe Tone arranged in Paris for a French invasion, and in December of that year a fleet of forty-three ships of war, with fifteen thousand troops and forty-five thousand stand of arms, sailed from Brest for Ireland under General Hoche. The fleet was separated by bad weather; sixteen ships only anchored in Bantry Bay, where, as the bad weather continued and Hoche had not come up, they cut their cables after a week and returned to France. In the following year another abortive attempt at invasion followed with the sailing from Ireland of a Dutch fleet with fifteen thousand men under Admiral de Winter — an attempt which was

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 4

14. Fatal car crash of rebel motor-car party in Kerry

    Kerry · county · Kerry · 1916

    Three agents sent from Dublin to Kerry to meet Casement and coordinate arms distribution crashed their motor-car into a sea inlet while driving furiously in the dark after learning of the expedition's failure. All occupants except the chauffeur were killed.

    Read the passage

    to have received its first intelligence of the interception of the Casement expedition. The leaders in Dublin had despatched to Kerry in a motorcar three agents who were to meet Casement, attend the disembarkation of the arms, supervise the first stages of their distribution through the southern and western counties, and subsequently report in person at headquarters. An accident which befell this motor-car party was not without a serious effect on the rebel plans. Upon its arrival in Kerry the party gathered some information of the fate of the expedition, and, without waiting to make other arrangements for the transmission of the news to Dublin, started back at breakneck speed to report. Driving furiously in the dark, the party pitched over the side of the road into one of the long and narrow arms of the sea which penetrate inland from the coast of Kerry, and all the occupants of the motor-car, with the exception of the chauffeur, were killed. News of the interception of the Casement expedition, therefore, reached somewhat belatedly the rebel headquarters, in anxious session in Dublin awaiting the information of its arrival which would enable them to complete their pre-arranged plans for the Rebellion and issue the orders for their execution. The report of the expedition's miscarriage, arriving almost on the eve of Easter Monday, produced in the rebel council of war a sharp division of opinion. A large section of the leaders argued strongly against the insurrection. They urged, we may suppose, that, with the miscarriage of the Casement expedition, the basis on which the whole plan of campaign reposed had been swept away. There was no hope of a successful rising in the provinces in default of the necessary arms. There was no hope of preventing a rapid concentration in great strength of British troops upon Dublin, where

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 72

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Kerry, this is the county where a fatal crash changed the course of rebel plans in 1916. The leaders in Dublin had sent three agents down here by motorcar to meet Casement, attend the disembarkation of the arms, supervise the first stages of their distribution through the southern and western counties, and then report back in person at headquarters. When the party arrived in Kerry, they gathered some information about the fate of the expedition. Without waiting to make other arrangements for transmitting the news to Dublin, they started back at breakneck speed to report. Driving furiously in the dark, the party pitched over the side of the road into one of the long and narrow arms of the sea which penetrate inland from the coast of Kerry. All the occupants of the motorcar, with the exception of the chauffeur, were killed. News of the interception of the Casement expedition therefore reached rebel headquarters somewhat belatedly, while they sat in anxious session in Dublin awaiting word of its arrival, which would enable them to complete their pre-arranged plans for the Rebellion and issue the orders for their execution. The report of the expedition's miscarriage, arriving almost on the eve of Easter Monday, produced a sharp division of opinion in the rebel council of war. A large section of the leaders argued strongly against the insurrection. They urged that with the miscarriage of the Casement expedition, the basis on which the whole plan of campaign reposed had been swept away. There was no hope of a successful rising in the provinces without the necessary arms.

15. R.I.C. ambush at Ashbourne kills two inspectors and eight constables

    Ashbourne · town · Meath · 1916

    A body of Royal Irish Constabulary under Inspector Gray was ambushed by rebels at Ashbourne, resulting in Inspectors Gray and Smith and eight constables being killed and fourteen wounded. It was not until 30th April that a mobile column could be spared to deal with these rebels.

    Read the passage

    It was with great regret I received the report of 28th April that a body of Royal Irish Constabulary, under Inspector Gray, had been ambushed by the rebels at Ashbourne, which resulted in Inspectors Gray and Smith and eight constables being killed and 14 wounded.

    It was not until 30th April that I was able to spare a mobile column to deal with this body of rebels, the leaders of which were secured.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 131

16. Spanish landing at Smerwick harbour and Dunanore fort

    Smerwick · townland · Kerry · 1579

    A small Spanish expedition led by Fitzmaurice, accompanied by the Pope's legate Dr. Sanders, landed at the harbour of Smerwick in Kerry and took possession of the fort of Dunanore, perched atop a rock jutting into the sea.

    Read the passage

    Invasions, or attempted invasions, from overseas were nevertheless more frequent than most English people, whose education in the history of the United Kingdom is limited almost exclusively to purely English affairs, are aware. No less than three expeditions were fitted out at foreign ports in 1579-80, when the great Geraldine Rebellion broke out for the second time. The first, equipped by the Pope on the recommendation of Philip II. of Spain, and consisting of a small squadron of three ships with seven hundred Italian soldiers, never reached Ireland ; for its commander, an English adventurer, by name Thomas Stukely, touching at Lisbon on his voyage, joined another expedition led by the King of Portugal. The second, led from Spain by Fitzmaurice, who was accompanied by the Pope's legate, Dr. Sanders, landed at the little harbour of Smerwick, in Kerry, where it took possession of the fort of Dunanore, perched on top of a rock jutting into the sea; this, however, was a small affair in which only eighty Spanish soldiers were engaged. The third expedition consisted of seven hundred * Joyce, " History of Ireland," Part IV., Chap. I.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 3

17. Casement and Bailey arrested at rath near Ardfert

    Ardfert · town · Kerry · 1916

    Bailey returned from Tralee to the rath near Ardfert, where he and Casement were both arrested by the authorities, who found on Casement a code of contemplated messages relating to the rebellion.

    Read the passage

    From Tralee Bailey returned to the rath near Ardf ert, and here he and Casement were arrested. Upon Casement was found a code consisting of such contemplated messages as the following:— " Wait further instructions," " Wait further opportunity," " Send agent at once," " Please answer by cablegram," " Railway communications have been stopped," " Further ammunition is needed," " How many rifles will you send us ? " ' Will you send plans about landing?" " Cannons with plenty of ammunition are needed," " Send more explosives," " Send a vessel if possible." These were the contemplated communications required to develop the situation in Ireland. Casement and Bailey, after their examination at Ardfert, were at once removed with all possible secrecy to Dublin, whence they were promptly forwarded to London, and there lodged -in the Tower to await their trial for high treason.

    On June 29th Casement was found guilty and sentenced to death, after making an eloquent and impassioned speech from the dock which will be found elsewhere in this volume.* Against Bailey, in consideration of the fact that he joined the Irish Brigade only in order to escape from Germany, the Crown entered a nolle prosequi, and he was discharged. The conviction of Casement was upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeal, and, despite numerous petitions for his reprieve, he was hanged in Pentonville on August 3rd.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 71

    As the companion tells it

    As you come through Ardfert in Kerry, this is the town near where Casement and Bailey were arrested in 1916. Bailey had returned from Tralee to a rath nearby, and the authorities took them both. On Casement they found a code of contemplated messages for the rebellion, things like "Send more explosives," "How many rifles will you send us?" and "Cannons with plenty of ammunition are needed." After examination here, they were taken secretly to Dublin, then forwarded to London and lodged in the Tower to await trial for high treason. On June 29th Casement was found guilty and sentenced to death, after an impassioned speech from the dock. Bailey was discharged, as the Crown accepted he had joined the Irish Brigade only to escape from Germany. Casement's conviction was upheld on appeal, and despite petitions for reprieve, he was hanged in Pentonville on August 3rd.

18. Kent family house affray at Fermoy

    Fermoy · townland · Cork · 1916

    Police attempting to arrest the Kent family at their house near Fermoy were met with armed resistance and the Head Constable was shot dead. On arrival of military reinforcements the wounded occupants surrendered.

    Read the passage

    In the County of Cork a general parade of Volunteers was held on Easter Sunday, April 23rd. They were ordered to be fully equipped, to take two days' rations, and to march to various named destinations — all situated in the the direction of County Kerry. When it was discovered that the sinking of the German arms ship had frustrated their obvious intention of taking over arms from her, they returned to their respective places of assembly, where they remained mobilised during the week. No disturbance, however, took place in the County of Cork, with the exception of an affray in the Fermoy district, where the police in attempting to effect arrests in the house of a family named Kent were met with armed resistance, and the Head Con-

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 101

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Fermoy, in 1916, police came to the house of a family named Kent to make arrests. They were met with armed resistance, and the Head Constable was shot dead. When military reinforcements arrived, the wounded occupants gave themselves up. It was the one disturbance in County Cork that week, after the Volunteers had mobilised for Easter but found the German arms ship was sunk and their plans frustrated.

19. Surrender of Humbert's force at Ballinamuck

    near Ballinamuck · population centre · Longford · 1798

    After landing at Killala and dispersing a militia force, Humbert's French expedition was surrounded and forced to surrender at Ballinamuck in County Longford.

    Read the passage

    utterly defeated at Camper down. Too late to assist the rebellion in 1798, General Humbert with a French force of rather more than a thousand men landed at Killala in County Mayo, and, after dispersing a force of militia, was surrounded and surrendered at Ballinamuck in County Longford. Soon afterwards a larger French expedition, under Admiral Bompart, with nine ships and three thousand men, was engaged and defeated off Lough S willy.

    Humbert's was the last French expedition which landed in Ireland, but it was not the last which contemplated such a landing. Robert Emmet, when he arrived in Ireland in 1802 to organise the insurrection of the following year, had just returned from France, and had hopes of aid from Napoleon; it was the accidental explosion of one of his ammunition depots which precipitated the rising in July, 1803, instead of in August, by which time he expected invasion from France. In that August Nelson wrote to Addington:— ' My station to the westward of Toulon, an unusual one, has been taken upon the idea that the French fleet is bound out of the Straits, and probably to Ireland. ' ' In October he wrote :— ' 'Their destination, is it Ireland, or the Levant? That is what I want to know." Collingwood is quoted by Mahan as being equally convinced that Napoleon's ultimate objective for Villeneuve's fleet was Ireland. Mahan maintained that as late as January, 1805, Nelson fully believed that "if the enemy left the Mediterranean, they would proceed to Ireland."

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 5

20. Cavalry detachment besieged for days in Charles Street

    Charles Street · street · Sligo · 1916

    A detachment of two officers and fifty men from the 6th Reserve Cavalry Regiment escorting ammunition was surrounded in Charles Street. They defended their convoy for three and a half days until relieved, during which the officer in command was killed.

    Read the passage

    The 3rd Royal Irish Regiment on their way to the Castle were held up by the rebels in the South Dublin Union, which they attacked and partially occupied ; a detachment of two officers and fifty men from the 6th Reserve Cavalry Regiment, which was conveying some ammunition from the North Wall, was surrounded in Charles Street, but succeeded in parking their convoy, and defended this with great gallantry for three and a half days, when they were relieved ; during this defence the oificer in command was killed and the remaining officer wounded.

    The rebels in St. Stephen's Green were attacked, and picquets with machine guns were established in the United Service Club and the Shelbourne Hotel with a view to dominating the Square and its exits.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 128

    As the companion tells it

    Along here in 1916, a detachment of two officers and 50 men from the 6th Reserve Cavalry Regiment was surrounded while escorting ammunition from the North Wall. They managed to park their convoy and defended it with great gallantry for three and a half days until they were relieved. The officer in command was killed during the defence, and the remaining officer was wounded.

21. Clash at Marino Crescent

    Marino Crescent · street · Dublin · 1914

    Police and soldiers intercepting Irish Volunteers who had landed rifles at Howth met them at Marino Crescent, where a violent confrontation left a soldier wounded and several Volunteers injured by rifle blows.

    Read the passage

    of Antrim, Down, Londonderry and Armagh. In July the King intervened and called together a conference of parties at Buckingham Palace. The wording of the invitation was very frank; evidently those in high places had begun to view the Irish situation with the utmost alarm. What happened at the conference has never been disclosed. We only know that it ended in faction. It has been assumed, however, that the King in his address to the delegates drew their attention to the threatening war clouds in Europe. The decision rested with the three Nationalist leaders, Mr. Redmond, Mr. John Dillon and Mr. Devlin. They were now ready to make greater concessions than those embodied in the proposals recently rejected by Sir Edward Carson. The " time limit" provision was to be omitted. Probably the conference broke down over the question of the Counties Fermanagh and Tyrone which, although inhabited by a Nationalist majority, were regarded by Ulster Protestants as an inalienable heritage. In the meantime the Nationalists of Ireland were preparing a coup by which they should show that in resource and daring they equalled the Ulster gun-runners. Early in the forenoon of July 26th a large yacht sailed into Howth Harbour. On her arrival a force of about 850 Volunteers took possession of the pier and began to unload the rifles that formed the yacht's cargo. With these they marched off to Dublin. News of the operation was telephoned to Dublin, and a force of Metropolitan Police with 200 soldiers were sent to intercept the Volunteers. They met them at Marino Crescent. The Volunteers refused to surrender the guns, and a slight conflict occurred, in which a lance-corporal of the Scottish Borderers was wounded, and some Volunteers had their heads injured by blows of clubbed rifles. Seeing the direct road barred, the Volunteers took

    44 THE IRISH REBELLION OF 1916

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 23

22. Sean MacDearmada's consumption and early death

    Limerick · city · Limerick · 1916

    Sean MacDearmada, a native of Limerick and founder of the Volunteer movement, suffered from consumption in his later years and could only walk with a stick. He was executed on 12 May 1916 as one of the last signatories of the Republican Proclamation to be shot.

    Read the passage

    he make a secret of his revolutionary opinions; always at moments of crisis in the history of the Volunteers, he led the opposition to compromise. It was in his paper, Irish Freedom, that the project of a German-Irish alliance first received open expression. He had suffered imprisonment before the outbreak of the Rebellion. This young man was marked down in any case for early death; he was consumptive, and in the latter years of his life could only walk with the aid of a stick. He united a singular sweetness of disposition with his violent and incautious enthusiasm, and was much beloved among his intimates.

    Connolly, the son of a Cork artisan, was about fifty years of age. Much of his life had been spent in Scotland ; it was there that he first identified himself with the Socialist movement; his abilities were recognised by Mr. Keir Hardie and the Independent Labour group, and for a while he acted as a lecturer on Socialism in England and Scotland. The Transport Workers' movement brought him back to Ireland, his headquarters being situated in Belfast.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Limerick, this is the city of Sean MacDearmada, a native of this place and a founder of the Volunteer movement. He was consumptive, and in the latter years of his life could only walk with the aid of a stick. He had suffered imprisonment before the outbreak of the Rebellion, and it was in his paper, Irish Freedom, that the project of a German-Irish alliance first received open expression. He united, as the record says, "a singular sweetness of disposition with his violent and incautious enthusiasm," and was much beloved among his intimates. He was executed on 12 May 1916, one of the last signatories of the Republican Proclamation to be shot.

23. French fleet sails up the Shannon with troops and arms

    near River Shannon · river · Cavan · 1691

    Nearly a year after the Battle of the Boyne, French General St. Ruth arrived in the Shannon with a fleet to take command of the Irish army; later Sarsfield refused to receive a further French fleet of eighteen ships of the line with thousands of soldiers and arms after the Treaty of Limerick was signed.

    Read the passage

    1649, in the harbour of Kinsale, with sixteen frigates. But Cromwell's strong sense of the insecurity of his position in England, while Ireland on her flank remained in Royalist hands; the extreme ferocity with which he waged the war in Ireland; and lastly, the ruthless policy of wholesale expropriation under which he offered a large proportion of the people of three provinces the alternatives of " Hell or Connacht ' —all these attest his determination, justified after the German manner of " military necessity," however repulsive in its moral aspect, that the Royalists and their foreign supporters should be left no foothold in Ireland for a flank attack upon Great Britain. In the war of William and James the succession was decided in Ireland. William took possession of the Throne of England almost without opposition, but he had to fight for Ireland, and he was not secure as King of England until he had fought for her and won her. The events of the war are too well known, even by those whose general knowledge of Irish history is most defective, to need recapitulation here. It will be more to the purpose to invoke the testimony of the writer who first defined for the English-speaking peoples the principles of sea-power — Admiral Mahan. The quotation must be prefaced by a correction of detail unimportant in its bearing on his argument, but necessary for the sake of historical accuracy. In his reference in the following passage to the Battle of the Boyne, he ignores the fact that it was not until nearly a year after that battle that the French General St. Ruth arrived in the Shannon with a fleet to take command of the Irish army; and French support continued to arrive until after the signing of the Treaty of Limerick, when Sarsfield, with a fine sense of honour which was ill repaid by the subsequent breaches of the Treaty on the English side, refused to receive a

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 5

24. Poyning's Law enacted at Drogheda in 1494

    Drogheda · town · Louth · 1494

    Casement cites the passing of Poyning's Law, the 10th of Henry VII, at Drogheda in 1494 by the Parliament of the Pale in Ireland, as the historical basis by which an Irishman could be indicted for treason under English statute.

    Read the passage

    obligation entered into between them and certain princes, chiefs, and lords of Ireland. This form of legal right, such as it was, gave no King of England lawful power to impeach an Irishman for high treason under this statute of Bang Edward III. of England until an Irish Act, known as Poyning's Law, the 10th of Henry VII., was passed in 1494, at Drogheda, by the Parliament of the Pale in Ireland, and enacted as law in that part of Ireland. But if by Poyning's Law an Irishman of the Pale could be indicted for high treason under this Act, he could be indicted only in one way and before one tribunal — by the laws of the Realm of Ireland and in Ireland. The very law of Poyning, which, I believe, applies this statute of Edward III. to Ireland, enacted also for the Irishman's defence, " all those laws by which England claims her liberty."

    And what is the fundamental charter of an Englishman's liberty ? That he shall be tried by his peers. With all respect I assert this Court is to me, an Irishman, charged with this offence, a foreign Court — this jury is for me, an Irishman, not a jury of my peers to try me in this vital issue, for it is patent to every man of conscience that I have a right, an indefeasible right, if tried at all under this statute of high treason, to be tried in Ireland, before an Irish Court and by an Irish jury. This Court, this jury, the public opinion of this country, England, cannot but be prejudiced in varying degrees against me, most of all in time of war. I did not land in England. I landed in Ireland. It was to Ireland I came ; to Ireland I wanted to come, and the last place I desired to land in was England.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 136

    As the companion tells it

    You are near Drogheda, in Louth, a town the road passes through. In 1494, the Parliament of the Pale in Ireland met here and passed an Act known as Poyning's Law, the 10th of Henry VII. Before that Act, no King of England had lawful power to impeach an Irishman for high treason under the statute of King Edward III of England. Poyning's Law changed that. It applied the statute of Edward III to Ireland, so that an Irishman of the Pale could be indicted for high treason. But it did so in one way only, and before one tribunal: by the laws of the Realm of Ireland, and in Ireland. The same law that brought the statute of Edward III to Ireland also enacted, for the Irishman's defence, that he should have all those laws by which England claims her liberty. Casement cited this when he stood in an English court. He said the fundamental charter of an Englishman's liberty is that he shall be tried by his peers. He told the court it was a foreign court to him, an Irishman. The jury was not a jury of his peers. He said he had an indefeasible right, if tried at all under this statute of high treason, to be tried in Ireland, before an Irish court and by an Irish jury. He did not land in England. He landed in Ireland. It was to Ireland he came, and the last place he desired to land in was England.

25. Public Funeral for Bachelor's Walk Victims

    Dublin · city · Dublin · 1914

    The people killed in the Bachelor's Walk shooting were given a popular funeral in Dublin, while the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the regiment responsible, were confined to barracks in the aftermath.

    Read the passage

    In Dublin the victims of the unhappy riot were given a popular funeral, and the Scottish Borderers had to keep to their barracks. The Ulster gun-runners had gone unpunished; and in the House of Commons Mr. Redmond and his colleagues bitterly contrasted the licence allowed to Unionists in the North, particularly on the occasion of the " grave and unprecedented out-

    46 THE IRISH REBELLION OF 1916

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 24

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Dublin, this is the city where the Bachelor's Walk victims were buried in 1914. The King's Own Scottish Borderers, the regiment that fired on the crowd, were confined to barracks afterwards. John Redmond told the House of Commons that Ulster gun-runners had gone unpunished, contrasting the licence allowed to Unionists in the North.

26. Successive executions announced in Dublin

    Dublin · city · Dublin · 1916

    Day by day official notices from Dublin announced further executions of rebel leaders including Plunkett, Daly, Hanrahan, William Pearse, MacBride, Colbert, Kent, Mallin, Heuston, Connolly and MacDermot, cumulatively deepening public shock.

    Read the passage

    On Thursday, May 4th, a curt official notice announced the executions of Joseph Plunkett, Edmund Daly, Michael Hanrahan, and William Pearse. On Friday, May 5th, followed the announcement of the execution of John MacBride. On Saturday, May 6th, it was announced that Constance Georgina Marcievicz and Henry 0' Hanrahan had been sentenced to death, but that the sentence had been commuted to penal servitude for life by the General Officer Commanding-in- Chief . In numerous cases Sir John Maxwell exercised clemency in commuting death sentences to varying terms of penal servitude, and in remitting portions of sentences of penal servitude; but the daily list of executions in the eyes of the growing mass of Nationalist opinion quite offset the effects of this clemency. On Monday, May 8th, came the announcement of the executions of Cornelius Colbert, Edmund Kent, Michael Mallin and J. J. Heuston. Three of these were quite unknown names, and the notice added that they :' took a very prominent part in the Rebellion." On Wednesday, May 10th, the execution of Thomas Kent was announced, and in this case it was specifically stated that his offence was the murder of a police constable in the affray near Fermoy. It was not until Thursday, May llth, however, that there was added to a further list of

    * The mood of Nationalist sentiment was expressed by Mr. James Stephens in the lines : —

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 105

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Dublin, you're moving through a city where, in May 1916, daily official notices announced the executions of rebel leaders. On May 4th, Joseph Plunkett, Edmund Daly, Michael Hanrahan, and William Pearse were shot. On May 5th, John MacBride. On May 8th, Cornelius Colbert, Edmund Kent, Michael Mallin, and J. J. Heuston. Thomas Kent's execution was announced on May 10th, his offence stated as the murder of a police constable near Fermoy. Some sentences were commuted — Constance Markievicz and Henry O'Hanrahan had their death sentences reduced to penal servitude for life. Sir John Maxwell did show clemency in numerous cases. But the daily list of executions, in the eyes of the growing Nationalist opinion, quite offset the effects of that clemency. Each morning brought another name, and the cumulative weight of them deepened public shock across the city and beyond.

27. MacBride family driven from Ireland for physical force activity

    Westport · town · Mayo

    Major John MacBride's paternal relatives, the Gallaghers and the Gills of Westport, were forced out of Ireland due to their involvement with physical force movements. MacBride himself, raised in this tradition of revolt, was later executed for his part in the 1916 Rising.

    Read the passage

    Major John MacBride, the eighth of the rebels to face a firing squad, was executed on May 6th. He belonged to a well-known family of Westport, Co. Mayo, and was brought up in an atmosphere of revolt. His paternal relatives were the Gallaghers and the Gills, who were eventually driven from Ireland because of their association with physical force movements. MacBride was in Johannesburg when the Boer War began. He formed there a brigade of 500 Irishmen, and led them against the English in the first struggle around Ladysmith, winning his title of Major. He was popular with his soldiers, and, after the British granted an amnesty to the Boers, MacBride was enabled to escape to France ; when things had quietened he returned to Dublin. He married Miss Maude Gonne, the beautiful

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 48

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Westport in Mayo, you are in the family ground of Major John MacBride, the eighth rebel executed by firing squad on May 6th after the 1916 Rising. He was raised here in what the record calls an atmosphere of revolt. His paternal relatives, the Gallaghers and the Gills, were driven from Ireland for their part in physical force movements. MacBride carried that tradition far from home. He was in Johannesburg when the Boer War began, formed a brigade of 500 Irishmen, and led them against the English around Ladysmith, winning his title of Major. After the British granted amnesty to the Boers, he escaped to France, then returned to Dublin when things quietened. He married Miss Maude Gonne.

28. French fleet defeated off Lough Swilly

    near Lough Swilly · estuary · Donegal · 1798

    A larger French expedition under Admiral Bompart, with nine ships and three thousand men, was engaged and defeated off Lough Swilly shortly after Humbert's landing.

    Read the passage

    utterly defeated at Camper down. Too late to assist the rebellion in 1798, General Humbert with a French force of rather more than a thousand men landed at Killala in County Mayo, and, after dispersing a force of militia, was surrounded and surrendered at Ballinamuck in County Longford. Soon afterwards a larger French expedition, under Admiral Bompart, with nine ships and three thousand men, was engaged and defeated off Lough S willy.

    Humbert's was the last French expedition which landed in Ireland, but it was not the last which contemplated such a landing. Robert Emmet, when he arrived in Ireland in 1802 to organise the insurrection of the following year, had just returned from France, and had hopes of aid from Napoleon; it was the accidental explosion of one of his ammunition depots which precipitated the rising in July, 1803, instead of in August, by which time he expected invasion from France. In that August Nelson wrote to Addington:— ' My station to the westward of Toulon, an unusual one, has been taken upon the idea that the French fleet is bound out of the Straits, and probably to Ireland. ' ' In October he wrote :— ' 'Their destination, is it Ireland, or the Levant? That is what I want to know." Collingwood is quoted by Mahan as being equally convinced that Napoleon's ultimate objective for Villeneuve's fleet was Ireland. Mahan maintained that as late as January, 1805, Nelson fully believed that "if the enemy left the Mediterranean, they would proceed to Ireland."

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 5

29. Monteith and Bailey travel to Tralee to meet Volunteer leader

    Tralee · townland · Kerry · 1916

    After landing near Ardfert, Monteith and Bailey proceeded to Tralee to meet the local leader of the Volunteers, though police were watching for the conspirators; Monteith later disappeared and evaded capture.

    Read the passage

    The expedition arrived off the south-west coast of Ireland during the night of April 20th-21st, by which time the authorities were fully advised of its pending appearance. The three passengers in the submarine, Casement, Bailey and Monteith, were put off in a collapsible boat to land on the sands of Ardfert about 2 o'clock on the morning of Good Friday. It was very rough weather and the boat capsized in the surf. The three men, however, were able to wade ashore. They recovered from their swamped boat three Mauser pistols, ammunition, a flash lamp, maps and a large green Irish flag, and buried these articles on the strand. Monteith and Bailey proceeded to Tralee to meet the local leader of the Volunteers, while Casement remained near the place of landing in a rath known as MacKenna's Fort. From Tralee, although the police were on the watch for the conspirators, Monteith disappeared, and, after remaining in hiding during the period of the rebellion, subsequently made good his escape from Ireland.

    This incident provided a curious instance of the manner in which the rebellions of 1798 and 1916, while they differed widely in essentials, bore marked resemblance in point of detail. In 1798 Wolfe Tone, like Casement in 1916, negotiated with the enemies of Great Britain in time of war, and, like Casement, he approached the shores of Ireland in an enemy ship, hoping to help a rebellion. Tone, like Casement, was accompanied by two other rebel agents, and in his case, as in that of Casement, one of these companions eluded

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 70

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Tralee, in 1916, two men came looking for the local leader of the Volunteers. They were Monteith and Bailey, and they had just come ashore from a submarine. The expedition had arrived off the south-west coast of Ireland during the night of April 20th to 21st, and by then the authorities already knew it was coming. The three passengers in the submarine were Casement, Bailey and Monteith. They were put off in a collapsible boat to land on the sands of Ardfert about 2 o'clock on the morning of Good Friday. The weather was very rough and the boat capsized in the surf. The three men were able to wade ashore. They recovered from their swamped boat three Mauser pistols, ammunition, a flash lamp, maps and a large green Irish flag, and they buried these articles on the strand. Monteith and Bailey then came here, to Tralee, to meet the local leader of the Volunteers. Casement stayed behind near the landing place, in a rath known as MacKenna's Fort. The police were on the watch for the conspirators, but Monteith disappeared. He remained in hiding through the whole period of the rebellion and afterwards made good his escape from Ireland. The book notes a curious resemblance to 1798. In that year Wolfe Tone, like Casement, negotiated with the enemies of Great Britain in time of war, and like Casement he approached the shores of Ireland in an enemy ship, hoping to help a rebellion. Tone, like Casement, was accompanied by two other rebel agents, and in his case, as in Casement's, one of these companions eluded capture.

30. Famine-level food shortage among Dublin's working classes

    Dublin · city · Dublin · 1916

    During the Rebellion the poorer quarters of Dublin, whose population lived perilously near the starvation line even in normal times, suffered acute food shortages as prices rose to famine level and weekly wages and separation allowances ceased.

    Read the passage

    But by the working classes, concentrated principally in the centre of the city, food soon became altogether unobtainable by legitimate means. In the poorer quarters of Dublin a large proportion of the population lives, in normal times, perilously near the starvation line. The Larkinite labour movement had owed its spread and power not only to the persuasive teaching of class war by the agitator, but even more to the existence of the most deplorable economic conditions.* The war, by relieving a congested labour market in one direction by enlistment, and in the other by the prosperity of industries concerned with war work,

    direction by enlistment, and in the other by the

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 82

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Dublin, the city centre was where the working classes were concentrated, and during the 1916 Rebellion they were hit hard. Food became altogether unobtainable by legitimate means. The poorer quarters of Dublin had a large proportion of the population living, even in normal times, perilously near the starvation line. The Larkinite labour movement had spread not only through the teaching of class war but through the existence of deplorable economic conditions. The war had relieved a congested labour market in one direction through enlistment and in another through the prosperity of war industries, but during the Rebellion those gains collapsed as prices rose to famine level.

31. Ambush and killing of unarmed Veteran Volunteers

    Dublin · city · Dublin · 1916

    On the first day of the rising, a body of Veteran Volunteers was shot from ambush, an act which general opinion could not distinguish from sheer murder. This occurred amid broader civilian casualties in Dublin during the outbreak.

    Read the passage

    On the first day of the rising, any wearer of British uniform, soldier or policeman, armed or unarmed — and many soldiers on leave or convalescent were in the city — ran great risk in moving about the streets. It is not suggested that there was any general attack with intent to kill upon the unsuspecting police and military : in some cases the representatives of the Imperial authority were unmolested; in other cases they were taken prisoners. Again in further cases the excuse was offered that the orders of the rebel sentries were disobeyed; but Dublin, it should be remembered, was scarcely aware of the outbreak of hostilities until the afternoon of the first day. And such an act as the shooting from ambush at a body of Veteran Volunteers, general opinion could not distinguish from sheer murder. A considerable number of civilians were shot on the first day of the rising ; but in the great majority of cases they were

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 77

    As the companion tells it

    As the road passes through Dublin, you are moving through the streets where the 1916 Rising broke out on its first day. Any man in British uniform, soldier or policeman, armed or unarmed, ran great risk moving about, for Dublin itself was scarcely aware of the outbreak until the afternoon. Some representatives of authority were left unmolested, others taken prisoner. But a body of Veteran Volunteers was shot from ambush, and general opinion could not distinguish that act from sheer murder. A considerable number of civilians were shot that first day as well.

32. Mellowes leads Galway insurrection after deportation

    Galway · city · Galway · 1915–1916

    Mellowes, one of the Volunteers' organising instructors, was tried and deported from Ireland in 1915 but subsequently returned to lead the insurrection in Galway during the 1916 Rebellion.

    Read the passage

    that at the expiration of their sentences the order would not be enforced unless their conduct was unsatisfactory, Two of them were deported, and their deportation was followed by somewhat violent demonstrations in Dublin. One of these men, Mellowes by name, subsequently returned, and led the insurrection in Gal way.

    The general attitude of the Irish Government, however, was that the movement was not capable of becoming dangerous unless its members were armed. That Government expressed itself, in its subsequent apologia through the mouth of Mr. Birrell and his subordinates, as considering it of primary importance to prevent the Irish Volunteers from becoming a military danger and to place every obstacle in the way of arms and ammunition getting into their hands. But no steps were taken to make even this policy thoroughly effective. It was not until late in 1915 that the importation of arms and ammunition into Ireland was absolutely prohibited. Up to this time they were freely imported, subject to the precautions recommended by the Inspector-General of Royal Irish Constabulary and detailed above, for the use of Volunteer bodies other than the Irish Volunteers, and the military and police authorities had to endeavour to discriminate as best they could against consignments which they thought were ultimately intended for the seditious organisation, being always compelled to apply for sanction to the civil authorities, and being at every turn frustrated in their efforts by the standing instructions of those authorities that they must avoid wherever possible any action at all likely to provoke an open conflict with the Volunteers. In these circumstances it was impossible to prevent a somewhat extensive leakage. English manufacturers had been importing freely into Ireland for some time after the outbreak of war,

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 63

    As the companion tells it

    As you come through Galway, this is the city where Mellowes led the insurrection in 1916. He had been one of the Volunteers' organising instructors. He was tried and deported from Ireland, and his deportation was followed by somewhat violent demonstrations in Dublin. The order was that at the expiration of their sentences the order would not be enforced unless their conduct was unsatisfactory. But Mellowes subsequently returned, and led the insurrection in Galway. The general attitude of the Irish Government was that the movement was not capable of becoming dangerous unless its members were armed. The Government, in its subsequent apologia through the mouth of Mr. Birrell and his subordinates, considered it of primary importance to prevent the Irish Volunteers from becoming a military danger and to place every obstacle in the way of arms and ammunition getting into their hands. But no steps were taken to make even this policy thoroughly effective. It was not until late in 1915 that the importation of arms and ammunition into Ireland was absolutely prohibited. Up to that time they were freely imported, subject to the precautions recommended by the Inspector-General of Royal Irish Constabulary. The military and police authorities had to endeavour to discriminate as best they could against consignments they thought were ultimately intended for the seditious organisation. They were always compelled to apply for sanction to the civil authorities, and were at every turn frustrated in their efforts by the standing instructions of those authorities that they must avoid wherever possible any action likely to provoke an open conflict with the Volunteers.

33. Attack on Firies police constables

    Fieries · population centre · Kerry · 1916

    Two police constables posting the proclamation of martial law at Firies, near Killarney, were shot and seriously wounded. This was the only disturbance in County Kerry apart from Tralee mobilisation.

    Read the passage

    expedition was received, and took prompt steps to cope with the emergency. He followed up the arrest of Casement, on the morning of Good Friday, April 21st, by arresting Austin Stack, the local leader of the Volunteers, who was subsequently tried by Court-martial and sentenced to penal servitude for life. On the same day he telegraphed for extra police for Tralee, and these came in from outlying stations. Extra men were at once placed at Valentia Island and Waterville to patrol the cable stations. The County Inspector also got into communication with the General Officer Commanding at Queenstown, requesting fche despatch of a military force. A force of a hundred soldiers, who were later reinforced, were promptly despatched by train, and arrived in Kerry early on the morning of Saturday, April 22nd. In the meantime more than 300 Volunteers had mobilised in Tralee with the evident intention of assisting in the landing of arms. But the arrest of Casement and Stack, who was in complete charge of the local plans, and the arrival of troops from Queenstown and of extra police from the country acted as a sufficient deterrent. The Volunteers at Tralee took no overt action, and those of them who had come from the country district 5 gradually left for their homes. Elsewhere the show of force was adequate to prevent an outbreak No disturbance occured in the county except at Firies, near Killarney, where two police constables posting the proclamation of martial law were shot and seriously wounded. After the suppression of the Rebellion wholesale arrests were effected throughout the County Kerry.

    A remarkable feature of the Rebellion in the provinces was the absence of an outbreak in the City of Cork— <f rebel Cork "—a stronghold of

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 101

34. Howth arms landing ruled illegal by Royal Commission

    Howth · townland · Dublin · 1914

    A Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that the attempt made to deprive the National Volunteers of arms surreptitiously landed at Howth just before the outbreak of war was illegal, which subsequently hampered authorities from acting against arms smuggling.

    Read the passage

    particularly, by the ruling of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of the landing of arms at Howth just before the outbreak of war that the attempt made to deprive the National Volunteers of arms surreptitiously landed for their use was illegal. By the end of 1914, however, it was recognised that the Irish Volunteer organisation, in the personnel of the Committee, its declaration of policy, the utterances of its leading representatives in the Press and at public meetings, its opposition to the efforts of Mr. Redmond and the Nationalist Parliamentary Party to bring Ireland into line with Great Britain in the war, and its crusade against enlistment into the Army, had shown itself to be a potential danger to the British power in Ireland. It was further recognised that it must be treated on different terms from the other Volunteer bodies in Ireland, and henceforth the proceedings of the organisation were carefully watched.

    The policy of not allowing Government servants to belong to it was consistently followed, and where membership had been found to continue after warning had been given dismissal followed. Persons were dismissed from the Post Office, the Inland Revenue, the Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Stores, and other Government departments. Considerable numbers whose association with the Irish Volunteers could not be proved, however, remained in the Government's employment. In the case of priests assisting the Volunteers in any public way representations were made to the higher ecclesiastical authority. The priests in general discountenanced the movement, but some of the younger clergy in certain districts prominently identified themselves with it, and publicly delivered violent speeches in its support. Action against seditious newspapers was taken during the winter of 1914, but during the following year

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 62

35. Ammunition cache found at Carrickmore

    Carrickmore · townland · Tyrone · 1916

    A flying column pushed on to Carrickmore, where a search for concealed guns revealed three thousand rounds of ammunition in cases and bandoliers hidden by local Volunteers.

    Read the passage

    The rest of the South of Ireland was quiet throughout the week of the Rebellion. Some unrest was apparent in Belfast and the southern districts of Ulster, and early in the week the police, acting under military instructions, made a large number of domiciliary visits in the city and suburbs of Belfast, arresting some thirty persons suspected of being connected with the rebellious movement. Though the situation in Ulster throughout was officially described as " normal," a serious outbreak threatened in County Tyrone, and prompt military measures were organised in Belfast to prevent a rising. Observations of the movements of some local Sinn Fein sympathisers prompted the conclusion that secret mobilisation might be in prospect in the mountains of Mid- Tyrone. The military authorities in Belfast issued an immediate appeal for motor transport, and within an hour, with the aid of civilian organisation and that of the Ulster Volunteers, over a hundred vehicles were placed at their disposal. A flying column of 300 men was thus despatched on Tuesday, April 25th, to Dungannon, where post office, telegraph and telephone business was prohibited, and to Cappagh, where a guard was mounted on the reservoir. The column pushed on to Carrickmore, where a search for concealed guns revealed three thousand rounds of ammunition in cases and bandoliers. For the remainder of the week military and police in motor transport were actively engaged in rounding up Volunteers in

    200 THE IRISH REBELLION OF 1916

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 102

36. Bomb-making and explosives thefts across Irish towns

    Enniscorthy · townland · Wexford · 1915

    During 1915 there were multiple offences connected with thefts of explosives and the manufacture of bombs by Volunteer organisations. These incidents occurred in several Irish towns including Enniscorthy, Sligo, and Castlebellingham.

    Read the passage

    The Irish Volunteers employed other methods besides smuggling of this kind for obtaining possession of arms and ammunition. Revolvers and pistols, to a number known to be much in excess of that on record, were brought into Ireland in passengers' luggage and otherwise. There were extensive thefts of rifles consigned to the National Volunteers. In one case in August, 1915, a hundred rifles consigned to them, which came in openly with the permission of the Government, were stolen from the railway company, probably with the connivance of one of the company's employees; these rifles were taken away about two o'clock in the morning, and apparently removed in a motor car. There were defections throughout 1915 from the National Volunteers to the Irish Volunteers, and in this way also a number of rifles consigned to the former eventually found their way to the latter. Further, there were thefts of rifles from the military which amounted in the aggregate to a considerable number. In addition, rifles were purchased from soldiers on leave. It was known to the authorities that there had been at least one considerable theft of military ammunition and also that the rounds carried by soldiers were being purchased. Finally, man-killing ammunition for minature rifles and shot guns, as well as bombs, were manufactured in various secret arsenals. Offences connected with thefts of explosives and the manufacture of bombs occurred in Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford, in Sligo, in Co. Galway, at Cork, and in Castlebellingham in Co.

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft, Chapter 63

37. Explosives crime in Castlebellingham

    Castlebellingham · town · Louth · 1915

    Castlebellingham was among the sites where offences involving theft of explosives and bomb manufacture occurred during 1915, as Irish Volunteers built up their arsenal ahead of the Rebellion.

    Read the passage

    Louth, as well as in Lanarkshire in Scotland, at different dates in 1915. Searches made from time to time in Dublin and the provinces, however, had revealed no considerable store either of arms or ammunition, and the authorities were led to believe that there was no great supply of ammunition in the hands of the Volunteers — an impression which was, as the event proved, entirely erroneous.

    In January 1916, the Inspector- General of the Eoyal Irish Constabulary, who had throughout taken a much more serious view of the situation than the Irish Government, drew the attention of the Chief Secretary to the public danger that arose from the fact that extremists were believed to be getting possession of explosives, and urged the necessity for more rigid regulations in Ireland against their unauthorised possession. He also stated that he considered it deserving of consideration (a) Whether the time had not now come to put some limit to the carrying of rifles, shot guns and revolvers by persons who would be likely to abuse the privilege; (b) whether all persons not connected with the forces of the Crown should not be obliged to get a military permit to carry rifles and revolvers, and whether a similar permit should not be necessary for training in drill or in the use of firearms. Some time later — only a short time, in fact, before the outbreak of the Rebellion in April — the Attorney- General for Ireland submitted to the Chief Secretary a minute to this effect : " I can conceive nothing more dangerous or mischievous than to allow at this time any person to parade in public carrying rifles, bayonets, or arms of any description which can be identified as military service weapons, the property of His Majesty. In my opinion ample machinery exists for dealing with such cases, as possession is primd facie unlawful, and they can only have been

    Internet Archive historyofirishre00welluoft