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The Easter Rising

60 second histories
by: Squaducation date: 24 Apr

The Easter Rising  -  April 24th 1916.  

 

The 1800 Act of Union, which merged Ireland with the UK, was the long-term backdrop to an attempt by Irish nationalists to form an Independent Ireland and end interference from London. Although not successful at the time it became a pivotal moment in the history of Ireland in that the defeated leaders became martyrs and fuelled the resentment against British rule. This led to the success of the political wing of the Republican movement, Sinn Fein, in the 1918 elections and the 1921 treaty that saw the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, now called the Republic of Ireland. Six northern counties in the province of Ulster opted out of this agreement and the Free State and decided that their future lay within the United Kingdom – what is now Northern Ireland.

 

Since 1800 many Irish citizens had come to feel that that they were second-class citizens within the British Empire. They felt that their grievances were not listened to and that the British did not care about what was going on. The Potato Famine of 1845-47 led to an escalation of this feeling. The year before this famine a new blight was identified in America and it turned a potato into an inedible mush. The weather in 1845 was conducive to a good crop and there was much optimism in the country. However when the crop was harvested 50% were inedible. The harvests of 1846 and 1847 were also disasters and as the potato was the staple diet, and families grew what they needed, there was no surplus. The government in London initially did nothing, feeling that as there had been famines before the citizens would know what to do. By 1846, when it became known that this was not an ordinary occurrence, money was given to the problem but this was chronically not enough. Corn was then given to the country but there were few mills and grinding it properly was difficult. People then started eating unground corn and became ill. Schemes were established to aid employment to enable people to have the money to buy food but there was an underlying political problem. The British Government believed firmly in free trade and that if the Irish could not survive on the way they lived then it should not be supported and allowed to die. The majority of landlords showed little sympathy either.

 

To make matters worse those areas of Ireland that were growing crops were exporting them to Britain. The owners of these estates could get more money for their produce this way, which also fitted in with the theory of free trade. Many landlords resorted to forced emigration of their tenants to stop the problem and many of these went to America. Between 1846 and 1850 the population of Ireland dropped by 2 million, which represented 25% of the population. Of these two million about half were due to starvation and half emigration – to America, Liverpool and Glasgow for example.

 

This helped produce a desire in Ireland for home rule. However for some this was not enough and anything other than complete independence would not do. As the British were never going to agree to this the only way it was going to come about was by fighting for it. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was set up in 1858 with this aim in mind. All the men who signed the proclamation of the Irish Republic at Easter in 1916 were members of this group.

 

By the start of the First World War the issue of Home Rule had become a complex one. The Ulster Volunteers, established in 1913, were against any decrease in British power in the island. The Irish Volunteers in the south, formed in 1914, wanted the exact opposite but when war broke out the leader of the Irish Nationalist Party recognised that the whole issue of Home Rule would have to be postponed. The members of the IRB did not share this view and saw it as an ideal time to take advantage of the fact that Britain’s military presence would be weaker as most of their men would be in Flanders. The Irish Citizen’s army was also formed and led by a former British Army officer – Jack White. Their number was only around 250.

 

Although they had money, mainly from gifts from Irish Americans, and leaders they did not have the arms needed.  An attempt by Sir Roger Casement to obtain the necessary arms from Germany was foiled as the British Navy intercepted the ship carrying them. Casement was arrested and hanged.

 

The Royal Irish Constabulary led the main defence in Ireland. There were about 10,000 officers across the country with their base at Dublin Castle alongside British Intelligence. About 1000 RIC officers were in Dublin and their intelligence was considered good. With the arrest of Casement it was obvious that some uprising was brewing. On April 23rd the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Wimborne, asked Sir Matthew Nathan, the Assistant Secretary to the Government, to arrest key men. Nathan told Lord Wimborne that this was not necessary. This was possibly due to the fact that intelligence had told them that the uprising had been called off. He also felt that they did not have either the men or the weapons. The calling off was true – but it had only been postponed - for a day.

 

Thus on Easter Monday, 24th, the various groups of Republicans met at strategic points across Dublin. They were to protect the routes into Dublin, guard the main military barracks, capture the General Post Office, the Four Courts, St Stephen’s Green and the South Dublin Union, amongst others. With the advantage of surprise, intelligence had failed hopelessly, these were captured easily. The Post Office was to be the nerve centre of the operation. An Irish Republic was proclaimed and the new government was house in the GPO.

 

Several days of fighting now ensued. In certain areas fighting was intense as new troops arrived to re-enforce the British Army. They lost 234 men whereas the rebels lost just 5. The famous pacifist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington was arrested, taken to Portobello Barracks and shot the next day without trial. By Friday, 28th, over 18,000 troops were now in Dublin. The GPO was subjected to a furious artillery assault, which caused much collateral damage to other parts of Dublin. The leaders of the uprising had no option but to take the offer of unconditional surrender. All the other areas that they had captured then gave in. In total the number of dead was 450 with a further 2,614 injured.

 

Britain declared martial law across the whole country. The 15 leaders of the rebellion, including the 7 signatories of the Proclamation of Independence, were held and executed by firing squad. Over 3000 suspected sympathisers were rounded up and sent to England, without trial, and imprisoned.

 

The harsh way the rebels were treated led to resentment. The call for a free Ireland and Home Rule continued and on Easter Monday, ironically, 1949, a fully Independent Republic of Ireland was formed. This did not end the problems, as Republicans wanted the British out altogether. The Easter theme continued as on Good Friday 1998 the Good Friday, or Belfast, Agreement was signed between the leaders of Northern Ireland, The Republic and Britain. This was approved by two referenda in May 1998 and the British-Irish agreement came into force on 2nd December 1999. This dealt with devolved government in Northern Ireland and cross-border arrangements and government.

 

 

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