1916 AND - COLLECTION - University College Dublin

mothers&babies 13 March 2016 I Irish Independent

PART TEN OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

TERENCE MacSWINEY ANDTHE LEGACY OF THE RISING+ De Valera and the politics of the new State

Thursday 3 March 2016 www.independent.ie/1916

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Irish Independent I Thursday 3 March 20162 | Irish Independent 1916 Collection

INTRODUCTION

Contents4 AFTER THE SHOOTINGMary Daly on how 1916 shapedthe politics of the new state

6 THE LUCKOF THEDEVHow the US-born De Valeraescaped Maxwell’s firing squad

8 REBIRTH IN BALAGraham Clifford on Frongoch,the University of the Revolution

9 THE POEMSOF 1916Lucy Collins on ‘ImperialMeasure’, plus result of our poll

10 HUNGERASAWEAPONCathal Billings on the death ofTerence MacSwiney in Brixton

12 THE 1916 LOGOJoe Coyle on his brilliant design

14 WHOSE IRELAND?Conor Mulvagh reflects on 1916

18 IGNITINGA FIREThe Constitution of 1922

20 CORK’S REBELRichard McElligott on Tom Kent

Published by Independent Newspapers,27–32 Talbot Street, Dublin 1, Ireland

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Design: Joe Coyle

Irish Independent

Editor:Fionnán Sheahan

Education Editor:Katherine Donnelly

University College Dublin

Dr Conor Mulvagh, lecturerin Irish History with special

responsibility for theDecade of Commemorations.

Eilis O’Brien, Director ofCommunication and Marketing

Niamh Boyle, Marketing Manager

Cover, by Jon Berkeley,shows Terence MacSwiney,

EamonDeValera and ThomasKent



TERENCE MacSWINEY ANDTHE LEGACY OF THE RISING+ De Valera and the politics of the new state


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ARBOUR Hill is the lastresting place of the 14 menwho were shot inKilmainham Gaol afterthe Rising. Following theirexecutions, their bodies weretaken the short distance acrossthe Liffey to the militaryprison and cemetery andburied in quicklime in anexercise yard. The chemicalwas used at the time toaccelerate decompositionand was seen as part ofthe punishment for thosecondemned.The way the men were

buried added to the angerwhich was beginning to findvoice, and Bishop ThomasO’Dwyer condemned theBritish for burying the menin unconsecrated ground.Some years later a prisonofficial later assured the Irishgovernment that although theyhad been buried outside theexisting cemetery, the groundhad been consecrated whenthe prison was built in 1848.The cemetery lies just to

the north of the NationalMuseum site at CollinsBarracks, where a major

HIGH on the agenda of thefirst Dáil was internationalrecognition: “The Nation ofIreland having proclaimedher national independence,calls through her electedrepresentatives inParliament assembled in the IrishCapital on January 21, 1919, uponevery free nation to support theIrish Republic by recognisingIreland’s national status and herright to its vindication at thePeace Congress.”The Paris Peace Conference,

also known as the Versailles

Peace Conference, was organisedby the Allied victors of the FirstWorld War to set the peaceterms for the defeated CentralPowers — Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.Ireland was not recognised atthe Paris conference, but SeánT O’Kelly and George GavanDuffy, joined later by ErskineChilders, were sent as envoys andset up a diplomatic mission in theGrand Hotel.A propaganda postcard

drawing, titled ‘PeaceConference’ points to a strategy

of achieving recognition throughthe diplomatic intervention of theUnited States.It depicts a table with

caricatures of delegates namedEngland, France, Russia andBelgium on one side, andGermany, Austria, Turkeyand Bulgaria on the other. Avacant seat at the head of the tableis marked Ireland. Behind that,America, dressed as Uncle Sam, isushering a uniformed Irish soldierto the seat. The postcard canbe viewed in the UCD Archivesat: http://url.ie/za1b. FC

FROMTHEUCDARCHIVES

Postcard from the edge of global affairs

Burial grounds atArbour Hill now aplace of pilgrimage

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NOVELIST Lia Mills insists thelatest issue of The Stinging Fly isfar more than a literary journal:“It’s a book, an anthology.”The magazine has gone

bumper — The Wake of the Risingsees 43 writers tackle the legacyof 1916 over 288 pages.Kevin Barry, Jimmy Murphy,

Mills, Paul Lynch and GavinCorbett are some of theestablished names included,while the issue also featuresLauren Lawler’s debut in poetry‘Grace Gifford’s Wedding’.Guest issue editor Seán

O’Reilly says there was no bigplan when putting the issuetogether, he said. What hasemerged, however, is an issue thatshows why Ireland is what Lynchcalls “the Brazil of the shortstory”.In his editorial, O’Reilly asks,

“Do writers today have anyinterest in social change, anybelief at all in the transformativerole of literary culture in thelife of the national or is thefeeling of a shared realitycrumbling with the ice-caps?” You will have to readThe Stinging Fly to find out.Visit www.stingingfly.org. AM

Writers takefly at the1916 legacy

STING IN THE TALE

The PeaceConferencecartoon from1919.

A flag-bearer at the annual ArbourHill commemorations.

exhibition on the Rising openstoday, March 3.Where the 14 men lie has

been turned into a place ofpilgrimage and their namesare inscribed in Wicklowgranite in Irish and English.The site is open from 8am-

4pm weekdays, 11-4pm onSaturdays and 9.30am-4pm onSundays.Roger Casement’s body was

treated with great disrespect,British government papersrevealed in 2003. Immediatelyafter his hanging inPentonville Prison in Londonhe was thrown naked into a pitand covered in quicklime. Twomurderers were later buried ontop of him.In 1965 his remains were

repatriated and after lying instate at Arbour Hill, wherehalf a million people filed pasthis coffin, he was buried inGlasnevin.Thomas Kent was buried

in Cork Prison, which lies atthe rear of what is now CollinsBarracks. In September 2015he was given a state funeraland reinterred at Castlelyons,Co Cork. LS

Thursday 3 March 2016 I Irish Independent Irish Independent 1916 Collection | 3

INTRODUCTION

LIKE other hospitals, theRotunda played an importantrole in 1916. This will be markedthis month in the exhibition‘The Birth of a Nation’, whichshowcases five extraordinarywomen.The hospital has gathered

a series of rarely seen images,diaries and film footage ofthe women who went on tobecome important figures inIrish medical history; BridgetLyons Thornton, Kathleen Lynn,Dorothy Stopford Price,Mary O’Shea and The Hon

Albinia Brodrick.The exhibition will offer

intriguing insight into womensuch as Lynn, a member ofthe Irish Citizen Army whodescribed herself to an arrestingofficer as “a Red Cross doctorand a belligerent”. Or midwifeMary O’Shea who witnessed thesurrender of the leaders of theRising as they were held on thegrounds of the Rotunda.Learn, too, about the dire

social conditions of the timeand the pre-natal and medicalservices available in 1916 and the

remarkable staff who cared forthe inner-city Dublin women ofthis time.Another highlight of the

exhibition will be an explorationof the Rotunda’s links with ‘TheTaking of Christ’ by the ItalianBaroque master Caravaggio thatwas once thought to be lost anditself has a grim connection to1916.The Rotunda – Birth of a

Nation is open to the public untilthe end of March (10am-4pmweekdays, 10am-5pm weekends).LS

Member of Na Fianna diedin a hail of bullets duringbattle at Stephen’s Green

THE LOST CHILDRENROTUNDAEXHIBITION

Hospital’s role in difficult birth of nation

1916 ONLINE

AS part of the IrishIndependent ’s unrivalledcoverage of the centenary ofthe Easter Rising, a dedicatedwebsite is now online. The siteuses words, pictures and videoto enhance understandingof a defining moment in ournation’s history.Read excerpts from

important books, watchRyan Tubridy talk about hisgrandfather, and marvel atthe stunning photos of Dublinin 1916. The site also carriesall the articles in our ongoingseries ‘My 1916’ and from ‘TheCentenary Papers’.The independent.ie/1916 site

will continue to build into abrilliant resource for studentsin years to come.

Watchmore online atindependent.ie/1916

FIANNA Éireann was foundedin Belfast by Bulmer Hobson(inset) in 1904, originally asa junior hurling league topromote the study of the Irishlanguage. When hemoved toDublin hemet with ConstanceMarkievicz who had founded anationalist scout troop calledthe Red Branch Knights andtogether with others theyset up Na Fianna in1909.They played a big

role in the Howthgun-running,and during theRising memberswere present ineach garrisonwhere they actedas messengers andscouts. Sevenmembersof Na Fianna were killed in theRising, including James Fox ofCabra Park.In Joe Duffy’s book Children

of the Rising, he reprints a1966 RTÉ radio interview withFrank Robbins, who foughtwith the Citizen Army.Robbins tells of meeting an

old friend fromMeath, Pat Fox,on Easter Monday. Fox told him

Above: A plaque in memoryof the 1916 Rising inside thegrounds of the Rotunda Hospitalwhere prisoners were held.DAMIEN EAGERS

Left: Countess Markievicz withKathleen Lynn.IRISH INDEPENDENT/NPA

that he was too old to fight, butwent on, “here is my son, I givehim into your charge. He wantsto fight for Ireland. Look afterhim, he’s all I have”.Without any training,

James Fox didn’t survive thefighting in St Stephen’s Green.Stationed in a trench near thetop of Grafton Street, he was

among a group who cameunder heavy fire.

He was tryingto climb over therailings when hewas hit severaltimes by machine-gun fire as it sweptaround the streetfrom the directionof the ShelbourneHotel.James tried to crawl to

safety but was hit by a secondburst and died soon after.“He was killed inside of 20

hours,” recalled Mr Robbins.James was aged 16.Somemonths later Robbins

and Fox senior met again, withthe bereaved father crying: “Mypoor boy”.Robbins replied “Don’t

worry, Pat, he died bravely.” LS

PresidentMichael DHiggins atthe annualArbour Hill 1916Commemorationceremonyin 2014.MARK CONDREN


KEYNOTE

MaryDaly on how Irish politics wastransformed in the Rising’s aftermath

IN the summer of 1916 it wouldhave been foolhardy to predictthat the Easter Rising hadtransformed the political futureof Ireland. Admittedly, manypeople in Ireland and overseas

were horrified by the executions, includingsome who had been very critical of theRising when it happened, but there isa very big gulf between an emotionalreaction, and generating a successfulpolitical and military campaign forindependence.The Rising succeeded in transforming

the Irish political landscape, becauseover the next two or three years, eventsboth in Ireland and internationallyended any prospect of a moderate HomeRule-style solution. By 1919, the legacyof 1916 had been transformed. It nowincluded a mass political movement, anda campaign of guerrilla warfare thatwas very different to the battle fought inEaster week. International events werealso important. US President WoodrowWilson’s commitment to national self-determination created expectations inIreland and throughout Europe that fullindependence was both achievable, and aright.In 1914 Home Rule was shelved for

the duration of the war. However, inthe summer of 1916 David Lloyd Georgereopened discussions with Edward Carsonand John Redmond. These talks eventually

collapsed over partition; Lloyd Georgepromised Redmond that any partitionwould be temporary, while giving Carson acommitment that it would be permanent.There was a further attempt to

reach agreement in 1917 when the IrishConvention — a gathering of over 100delegates representing various strandsof Irish society, though it was boycottedby Sinn Féin, met to devise a future formof government for Ireland. However, theConvention collapsed in April 1918 withoutreaching an agreement.Britain’s efforts to resolve the Irish

question were prompted by the war.Britain’s military campaign wasincreasingly dependent on the USA foressential supplies and financial support;the ultimate goal was to persuade theUSA to enter the war on their side. ButIrish-American opinion was stronglyopposed to American intervention, so itwas in Britain’s interests to adopt a moreconciliatory attitude towards Ireland.The horrendous loss of life in the war

left Britain with serious shortages oftroops, and there were pressures to extendconscription to Ireland. So softeningIrish opinion prior to conscription andplacating Irish-America were the reasonswhy the thousands of men and women whowere interned or convicted after the Rising— including many who had been given lifesentences — were released by the summerof 1917.

British commentators labelled the 1916Rising “the Sinn Féin rebellion”. This wasinaccurate, but Sinn Féin was a convenientlabel for a political movement that wouldinclude the veterans and aspirations ofthe Easter Rising. During 1917, victories inby-elections — for Count Plunkett, whosethree sons had fought in the Rising, forpolitical prisoner Joe McGuinness, and,most significantly, for Éamon de Valeraand WT Cosgrave — reflected a wave ofpopular sympathy for the rebels.These new MPs adopted the long-

established Sinn Féin policy of decliningto take their seats at Westminster. Atthe Sinn Féin convention in the autumnof 1917, control of Arthur Griffith’sparty passed to 1916 veterans and theirsupporters. Griffith had supported adual-monarchy; the Rising had proclaimeda Republic. A compromise was agreedthat would come back to haunt Griffith,de Valera and many others: their goalwas to secure a Republic, and when thathappened, the Irish people could decide onwhat form of government they wanted.The Irish Party showed some signs of

revival in late 1917 and early 1918, winninga number of by-elections, including theWaterford seat held by William Redmond(John’s brother), who had died at thebattle of Messines. Redmond’s death inthe spring of 1918, the collapse of theIrish Convention, and British legislationimposing conscription on Ireland

destroyed the party. The surviving MPswithdrew fromWestminster — effectivelyadopting Sinn Féin’s policy. The Sinn Féinleaders were re-arrested, accused of beinginvolved in a “German plot”; in truth, theywere arrested to weaken any campaignagainst conscription. Sinn Féin’s successin securing the support of the Catholichierarchy for the anti-conscriptioncampaign radicalised Irish opinion.The 1918 general election, the first time

that all adult men and all women over theage of 30 were given a vote, was a landslidefor Sinn Féin. It won 73 out of 105 seats.The convening of Dáil Éireann in January1919 must be seen in the context of thesettlements that were under way in post-war Europe. The Paris Peace Conferencewas applying the principal of nationalself-determination; setting boundaries fornew nation states. But self-determinationonly applied to the defeated powers, soit did not extend to Ireland. Sinn Féinmade unsuccessful efforts to have Irelandincluded in the post-war settlement,lobbying delegates to the Paris Conference.Éamon de Valera was despatched toAmerica as part of this campaign;although he failed to gain the supportof the 1920 Republican and Democraticconventions, the mass meetings that headdressed across the United States putpressure on Britain and helped to raiseessential funding for Dáil Éireann.The Dáil set out to establish an

After theshootingstopped...

1916

UCD Professor Mary Daly in Dublin’s City Hall. STEVE HUMPHREYS


KEYNOTE

“The 1918 generalelection, the first timethat all adult men andall women over the ageof 30 were given a vote,was a landslide for

Sinn Féin, which won73 out of 105 seats

alternative government for Ireland —with Dáil courts, an alternative localgovernment system and economicministries. The military campaign —which is generally seen as beginningwith the Soloheadbeg ambush, whichcoincided with the first meeting of DáilÉireann, was designed to break downBritish government in Ireland. It targetedRoyal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks,because they were the most obviousevidence of British presence, and thebarracks also held guns.Homes of the Anglo-Irish gentry were

also targeted — because they too heldguns, but also because they were seen assymbols of British presence in Ireland, andpotential sources of British intelligence.Pent-up land hunger — purchase anddistribution came to a halt during thewar — was also a factor in the targeting of‘Big Houses’. The decentralised, guerrillawarfare gave scope for local feuds, ventingof sectarian pressures, opportunistic landseizures and some atrocities.Throughout 1919, Britain was

preoccupied with the Paris PeaceConference, and it devoted little attentionto Ireland. It refused to recognise theVolunteers/IRA campaign as a war,describing the combatants as a “murdergang”, claiming that suppression was amatter for the police, not for an army. Asincreasing numbers of RIC men resignedrather than face attacks and possible

death, they were replaced by formermembers of the British army — Auxiliariesand Black and Tans. Lack of trainingand discipline, plus the fact that theirattackers were dressed in civilian clothing,prompted a disregard for normal rules ofwar.Incidents such as the burning of

Balbriggan and Cork city, the callousmurder of innocent civilians and raidson houses served to further alienate Irishnationalist opinion. The Dáil had a verysophisticated publicity unit, and stories ofBritish atrocities in Ireland were widelycovered in the British and internationalpress – increasing the pressure on Britainto reach a solution to the Irish question.The 1920 Government of Ireland Act,

passed by a parliament that included nositting Irish nationalist MPs, establishedtwo Home Rule parliaments in Ireland —one in Belfast responsiblefor six counties, andanother in Dublin.The Belfast parliament

duly opened in the summerof 1921, but the limitedpowers offered by HomeRule fell far short of thewishes of Dáil Éireann.However, compromise wasinevitable. Dáil Éireanncould never have secureda military victory overBritish forces in Ireland

— especially if Britain had mounted a fullmilitary campaign. But it did make theprice of a British victory too high.The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on

December 6, 1921 granted IrelandDominion status — a status equivalent toCanada.This was not a Republic: the king —

represented by a governor-general — washead of state; elected politicians had totake an oath of allegiance to the crown;and Britain retained three naval basesin Ireland. Northern Ireland remainedas a distinct entity, though a boundarycommission would be established toreview the extent of its territory.The Treaty split Sinn Féin and the IRA;

the divisions were almost entirely becauseof the oath, and the failure to achieve aRepublic, not about Northern Ireland,and the ensuing civil war resulted in 927

deaths and bitter divisionsamong families and formerfriends.Yet Dominion status

gave Ireland a seat at theLeague of Nations; andthe possibility to removeall residual constitutionallinks with Britain, whichwould not have beenpossible under Home Rule.On Easter Monday

1949 — a symbolic datechosen because it was the

anniversary of the 1916 Rising — Irelandbecame a Republic.The legacy of 1916 is complex. Ireland

can be included among those new nationstates that were created in the immediateaftermath of World War I, but it is uniqueamong them — the only one to surviveover the past century as an independentdemocracy.This democratic legacy reflects the

successful transition from the militarycampaign of Easter 1916 into the Sinn Féinparty with its commitment to electoralpolitics. The strength of Irish electoralpolitics in 1917 and later owes much toO’Connell, Parnell and the Irish Party.While the Rising can be seen as a

continuation of a tradition that includes1798, 1848 and the Fenians, it should alsobe seen as a response to Ulster Unionistparamilitarism and the erosion of normalpolitical negotiation to resolve Irish self-government, plus the impact on Irelandof the Great War. The 1916 Rising didnot create partition; that was effectivelydetermined by the summer of 1914.The complex legacy of 1916 is evident in

the continuing debate over its significance— 100 years after it happened.

Professor Mary E Daly isPresident of the Royal IrishAcademy and Emeritus Professorof the UCD School of History

Left: Firemen survey a ruined Dublin building in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising.IRISH INDEPENDENT/NPAAbove: Sinn Féin leaders at the first Dáil Éireann in 1919 and (below) Dublin childrenwith toy weapons in the year after the War of Independence in 1922. GETTY IMAGES

Left: Firemen survey a ruined Dublin building in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising.

1922

1919


PROFILE

RonanFanning on the seriesof lucky breaks that sparedthe life of future President

EAMONDE VALERA’S heroicimage as the most seniorIrish Volunteer officer tosurvive 1916 has obscured thereality of his minimal role inplanning the Rising. He had

reluctantly joined the Irish RepublicanBrotherhood (IRB) in 1915, an oath-boundsecret society which was the real drivingforce behind the Rising, only when herealised that some of the subordinates inhis battalion who were also in the IRB knewmore about what was being planned thanhe did.Although he took the IRB’s oath, his

commitment was conditional: he attendedno meetings and did not want to knowthe names of other members or any of theorganisation’s other secrets other thanthose he thought essential for his role asbattalion commander.De Valera was not a signatory of the

Easter Proclamation, which he had no partwhatsoever in drafting. He saw himself notas a leader but as a follower, as a soldierobedient to the orders of his senior officers.“He was glad that he [had] no

responsibility for deciding anything andthat he had simply obeyed orders”, DeValera told William O’Brien, the Labourleader, when they were imprisoned togetherafter the Rising.This political anonymity goes a long way

towards explaining why Éamon de Valeraescaped execution in 1916. Another reasonwas that the delivery of Patrick Pearse’ssurrender order to DeValera at Boland’s Mill, onthe south-eastern outskirtsof the city, was delayed by24 hours. Twomore dayselapsed before De Valeraand his men, who were thentemporarily imprisonedin the RDS grounds inBallsbridge, were marchedacross Dublin to join themain body of the prisonersin Richmond Barracks inthe west of the city.The screening and court

martial of the leaders of the

Rising had already begun while De Valerawas apart from the main body of prisonersand isolated in Ballsbridge. On his firstmorning in Richmond Barracks, manyprisoners were awoken at 3.45am by thevolleys signalling the earliest executions:Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and ThomasClarke. The shots did not wake De Valera,always a sound sleeper, but he expected toshare their fate.There were four more executions the

next day, May 4, including that of EdwardDaly whose case resembled De Valera’s ontwo counts: he was not a signatory of theproclamation and he was a commandant ofone of the Volunteer battalions in Dublin.But he had the misfortune to have beenamong the first of those court martialed– onMay 2, when De Valera was still inBallsbridge.

Another execution, ofJohnMacBride, took placeonMay 5 and a weekendlull followed; De Valera’scourt martial did not takeplace until the afternoonof May 8, a day that hadbegun with another fourexecutions. BetweenMay2 and 17, convictions wererecorded in 149 of the 160cases of prisoners who weretried by Field General CourtMartial; but only 15 of the90 death sentences passedwere carried out.

SNAPSHOT

ÉAMONDEVALERA

Born: New York, October 14, 1882

Educated: Bruree NS, CharlevilleCBS, French College (Blackrock),Royal University (UCD)

Affiliation: Irish Volunteers

Career: Teacher, politician(Taoiseach 1932-48, 1951-54,1957-59; President 1959-73)

Died: Dublin, August 29, 1975

How Devescapedexecutionin 1916

“De Valera was not asignatory to the Easterproclamation, which he

had no part whatsoever indrafting. He saw himselfnot as a leader but asa follower, as a soldierobedient to the orders of

his senior officers

Before De Valera’s court martial, his wifeSinéad had already made representations tothe American Consul in Dublin that he wasa US citizen and the Consul had writtento that effect to the most senior officialin Dublin Castle, the Under Secretary, SirMatthew Nathan. His relations in New York– notably his half-brother, Father ThomasWainwright, a Redemptorist priest – didlikewise.But, under questioning at his court

martial, De Valera made no suchrepresentations on his own behalf; hesaid that he had been born in New Yorkbut did not know “whether his fatherwas a Spanish subject or a naturalisedAmerican.” He also said that “he alwaysregarded himself as an Irishman and notas a British subject.”De Valera was transferred to

Kilmainham Gaol – those executedwere shot by firing squad in the prisonyard – to await the decision of General

Maxwell, Britain’s newly appointedgeneral-officer-commanding in Ireland,on the confirmation of his conviction andsentence.But Herbert Asquith’s government

were already taking fright at the politicalrepercussions of the executions and on thesame day as De Valera’s court martial JohnRedmond warned the House of Commonsthat such a draconian policy was alreadyalienating many who had no sympathywith the insurrection. John Dillon made aneven stronger speech when the Commonsdebated the Irish crisis on May 11 andwhen Asquith began a weeklong visit toIreland next day Maxwell immediatelyassured him there would be no moreexecutions.In the meantime, on May 10, an officer

had already come to De Valera’s cell andread him the verdict of his court-martial:guilty and sentenced to death. But he thenread a second document, commuting the

A uniformed Éamon de Valera c 1914(left) and at a rally in America in 1919(above). GETTY IMAGES


PROFILE

sentence to penal servitude for life.In the last analysis, De Valera owed

his survival more to luck than to Asquithor America. He was lucky that Boland’sMill was isolated on the city’s south-eastern periphery. Lucky that he was firstimprisoned in Ballsbridge and not withthe other leaders. Lucky that he was nottransferred to Richmond Barracks for 48hours and that his trial was delayed untilMay 8. Lucky that General Maxwell hadalready been summoned to London onMay5 by a government so alarmed at the impacton Irish public opinion that it urged him tobring the executions to an end.The last of the executions – of Seán

Mac Diarmada and James Connolly, bothsignatories of the Proclamation, took placeon May 12 – Asquith arrived in Dublinlater on the same day. Having confirmedConnolly’s fate after a discussion withWilliamWylie, the prosecuting officer atthe trials, Maxwell had asked who was

next. De Valera, Wylie replied, stumblinglike so many others over the strangename. “Is he someone important”, askedMaxwell, and Wylie made what Tim PatCoogan has described as “the immortalreply: ‘No. He is a school-master who wastaken at Boland’s Mill’” and so de Valeraescaped death.With the benefit of hindsight and in the

light of all De Valera made of the life thusspared, Wylie’s reply may indeed seemimmortal; but in the context of the time itreveals a more mundane reality: Éamon deValera survived in 1916 because he was thenunknown.

This article is an extract, editedby the author, Professor RonanFanning, Professor Emeritus ofModern History at UCD, from hisbiography ‘Eamon de Valera: AWill to Power’ (Faber & Faber, 2015)

The fate of his family troubled the leaderahead of the Rising, writesKimBielenberg

H E was called Edward, andshe had been born Jane. Theyformed a bond that was toendure through revolution,

imprisonment, long separation andcivil war.Edward de Valera, who soon became

Éamon, met Jane Flanagan at GaelicLeague Irish language classes, where shewas his teacher. Steeped in the language,she had changed her name to Sinéad NíFhlannagáin.At Christmas in 1908, he sent her a “nice

plant”, on which was inscribed ‘O Chára’(from a friend). Sinéad was not sure whohad sent the present, but she suspected itmight have been the tall, earnest man withthe long nose and spectacles.Dev did not delay before proposing to

her, and according to her account, theyhardly knew each other before they wereengaged.In a family memoir, Sinéad observed one

of her husband’s character traits: “In smallthings, Dev is very much given to weighingup things; he sees all the difficulties. Onthe other hand, when a big matter is atstake, he will go boldly forward.”The couple married on January 8, 1910,

and by the time of the Rising, they already

had four children – Vivion, Máirín, Éamon,and Brian.De Valera had initially been drawn to

the Irish language to further his teachingcareer, but gradually, he became moreimmersed in the language movement andnationalist politics, before eventuallyjoining the Irish Volunteers.His historical reputation is one of an

austere, puritanical figure, but his lettersto Sinéad early in his marriage werepassionate. He quotes erotic Irish poetryabout the “perfectly rounded breast”, andwrites longingly of “nectar-lipped” and“wild” kisses.De Valera was already heavily involved

in the Volunteers by the summer of 1914and helped to pick up guns when they werelanded in Howth. He travelled around thecity on a motorcycle with a side car. Thecouple lived on Morehampton Terrace, inDonnybrook.In the run-up to the Rising, he was

told he would have to command the areaaround Beggars’ Bush Barracks to thesouth of the city. He reconnoitred thearea by taking walks through the streetsholding the hand of his five-year-old sonVivion.

‘It’s the womenleft behind whowill suffer most’

President Éamon de Valera with hiswife Sinéad Ní Flannagain, children andgrandchildren (above); with Sinéad ata state function in Dublin in the 1960s(left); and with senior members of SinnFéin in 1919 (below). IRISH INDEPENDENT

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 >>>


PROFILE

IN the weeks and months whichfollowed the Easter Rising, Britishofficials in Ireland scrambled tofind a way of quelling Republicansupport and of showing the worldthey would not allow insurrection

in their nearest colony.The executions of the leaders of the

Rising led to an international outcry,especially from across the Atlantic, and theBritish Prime Minister Herbert Asquith,desperately requiring American support inthe Great War, sought another way.AWelsh prisoner of war camp in the

rural area of Frongoch which housedaround 1,000 German internees was all butevacuated (a number of German prisoners inpoor health remained behind) tomake wayfor an influx of some 1,800 Irish prisoners.Those who were involved in the Rising,

or who were suspected of supportingor sympathising with the rebels, wererounded up and brought to the damp andcold camps at Frongoch – outside the townof Bala in North Wales. They were heldwithout trial.

Some were transported from Englishprisons, where they had already spenttime for their involvement in the Rising orconnection to the Republican cause.On the site of a former whisky distillery,

the Frongoch camp consisted of two mainsections. At one end of a large field stoodthe distillery itself, which was convertedinto cramped dormitories while a series oflong wooden cabins were built at the otherend.Irish internees started to arrive by rail

into a specially built station in isolatedFrongoch – which still stands to this day.The first group of Irish prisoners reachedthe camp on June 9, 1916.Many from the west of Ireland compared

the rugged scenery to Connemara onarrival. And though surrounded by opencountryside, the camp was almost 20 milesfrom the nearest large town and so escapewas deemed futile.Amongst those to arrive into the station

at Frongoch in the summer of 1916 werehigh-profile republicans such as WilliamT Cosgrave, Terence MacSwiney, Seán T

O’Kelly, Richard Mulcahy, Gerry Bolandand Michael Collins.Within days of the first Irish men

arriving, a committee structure of sortswas arranged with classes in Irish historyand language, reading, writing and craftstaking place. The more senior republicanslectured younger volunteers of how andwhy the struggle to achieve freedom fromthe crown should continue once theyreturned to Ireland. In time Frongochbecame known as ‘Ollscoil na Réabhlóide’or ‘The University of Revolution’ andmany young men who arrived with mildrepublican views would return homewith their political opinions far moreentrenched.Collins, who attempted to learn the

Welsh language from a local tradesman,said Frongoch was where the guerillatactics which would lead to the War ofIndependence were first discussed andteased out “at English expense”.Republicans from across Ireland, who

would otherwise have found it difficult tomeet in such great numbers, suddenly had

Above: theFrongoch prisoncamp, near Bala,Wales; below:the grandfatherof former BritishLabour MP ChrisRuane, whowas internedat Frongoch.Picture: ErfylLloyd DaviesPhotography

Before the rebellion, the fate of hisfamily weighed heavily on De Valera, whohad risen up the ranks of the Volunteers tobecome a Commandant.On Easter Saturday, he told a fellow

Volunteer Joseph O’Connor: “We’ll be allright. It’s the women who will suffer. Theworst they can do is kill us but the womenwill have to remain behind to rear thechildren.”De Valera told his wife little or nothing

about the impending Rising, but byEaster weekend she began to suspect thatsomething serious was up.Sinéad recalled: “On Holy Thursday, 20

April 1916, Dev did not undress that nightbut lay down with a revolver by his side.On Good Friday, we knelt down in the littlekitchen at three o’clock and prayed that wewould all be left together.”On Easter Sunday, the eve of the Rising,

De Valera came home to say goodbye tohis family, aware that it could be a finalfarewell.He had taken an insurance policy out on

his life and had made his will.It was only on the following day when

Bridget, the maid, returned from townand reported that Volunteers were diggingtrenches in St Stephen’s Green that Sinéadrealised what was happening.Most of Dev’s battalion joined him in

occupying Boland’s Mill, which was nota scene of heavy fighting during EasterWeek, but a much smaller group nearbyat Mount Street Bridge inflicted heavycasualties on British troops.His battalion was the last to surrender

on Sunday April 30, as the Rising came toan end, and as a Commandant it seemedlikely that he would be executed.The following days were anxious ones

for Sinéad as she waited to find out abouther husband.Every morning brought news of more

death sentences and executions.The military raided her home searching

for documents, and they were followed bythe “G-men” from police special branch; akindly English neighbour looked after thechildren as the authorities searched herhome from top to bottom.Sinéad’s sister Bee berated the G-men

for their poorer manners: “You didn’tremove your hat when you came in.”Sinéad was keen to underline to the

authorities that Éamon was a US citizen,and went to the American Consulate.She was greeted warmly by one of

the officials: “You are as welcome as theflowers in May.”In these fraught days, the couple’s

toddler son Éamon dispelled the gloomwhen he remarked prophetically: “Tá Daidíimithe, ach tiocfaidh sé ar ais arís” (Daddyis gone but he will return).De Valera was sentenced to death, but

this was commuted to penal servitude.Afterwards, Sinéad visited him inKilmainham Jail with Vivion and Máirín.She recalled: “We were brought in andpoor Dev appeared at the grating wearingprison dress... I promised to be a motherand father to the children until his return.”She fulfilled that promise for most of

the time during the following decade, ashe was frequently in jail, on the run ortrying to drum up support for the cause inAmerica.The couple went on to have three more

children and died in the same year, 1975,after his long career in office as Taoiseachand President.

FrongochThe university of

Family’s fatetroubledde Valera>>>CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

GrahamCliffordon theinternment camp inWales where the 1916rebels refined their tactics


CULTURE

‘ImperialMeasure’ByVonaGroarke

ANASSESSMENT DR LUCY COLLINS

The kitchens of the Metropole andImperial hotels yielded up to the IrishRepublictheir armory of fillet, brisket, flank.

Though destined for more palatabletongues,it was pressed to service in an Irish stew

and served on fine bone chinawith bread that turned to powder

in their mouths. Brioche, artichokes,tomatoestasted for the first time: staunch and

sweet onMonday, but by Thursday,they had overstretched to spill their

livid plenitude on the fires of SackvilleStreet.

A cow and her two calves werecommandeered. One calf was killed,its harnessed blood clotting the

morning like news that wasn’t welcomewhen, eventually, it came. The women

managed the blood into black puddingswashed down with milk from the cow in

the yard who smelt smoke on the windand fire on the skin of her calf. Whose

fear they took for loss and fretted with heruntil daylight crept between crossfire

and the sights of Marrowbone Lane.

Brownies, Simnel cake, biscuits slumpedunder royal icing. Éclairs with theircreamalready turned. Crackers, tonnes of

them: the floor of Jacobs’ studded withcrumbs,so every footfall was a recoil from a

gunshot across town, and the flakesa constant needling in mouths already

seared by the one drink – a grossor two of cooking chocolate, stewed and

taken without sweetener or milk.Its skin was riven every time the ladle

dipped but, just as quickly, it seized upagain.

Nellie Gifford magicked oatmeal and ahalf-crowned loaf to make porridgein a grate in the College of Surgeons

where drawings of field surgeryhad spilled from Ypres to drench in

wounds the whitewashed wallsof the lecture hall. When the porridge

gave out, there was rice:a biscuit-tin of it for fourteen men, a

ladleful each that scarcely knockedthe corners off their undiminished

appetites; their vast, undaunted thirst.

The sacks of flour ballasting the garrisongave up their downy protest under fire.It might have been a fall of Easter snow

sent to muffle the rifles or to deaden theaim.Every blow was a flurry that thickened

the air of Boland’s Mill, so breathwas ghosted by its own white

consequence. The men’s clothes were talcedwith it,as though they were newborns, palmed

and swathed, their foreheads kissed,their grip unclenched, their fists and

arms first blessed and, then, made muchof.

The cellars of the Four Courts were intactat the surrender, but the hockhad been agitated, the Reisling set astir.

For years, the wines were sulliedwith a leaden aftertaste, although the

champagne had as full a throat as ever,and the spirits kept their heady

confidence, for all the stockpiled bottleshad chimed with every hit, and the

calculating scales above it allhad had the measure of nothing, or

nothing if not smoke, and then wildfire.

* From Flight (2002) by kind permissionof the author and The Gallery Press.

In this poem, published in 2001, Groarkecreates a new narrative of the eventsof 1916 – one in which the domesticbackground to the Rising becomes itsforeground. In this poem of long linesand vivid images, the practical, yetsensory, power of food gives expression tocomplex social and political interactions.The title of the poem plays on

Ireland’s position within the BritishEmpire, indicating the significant, yetunpredictable, consequences of rebellionagainst this power. Idealism must soonyield to traumatic action, just as thechoice cuts of meat and exotic vegetablescommandeered at the start of therebellion turn to waste.The brutal killing of a calf suggests

that the folk representation of Irelandas a cow must now be sacrificed to morepractical ends. With the sweetness ofdaring comes bitterness: luxurious foods

become unpalatablewhen taken to excess,as the highest aimsare compromised byreality.Contingency also

shapes the survivalstrategies dramatisedhere: when oneopportunity is exhausted, another istried; yet the hunger that first motivatedthe rebels cannot be satisfied. Evenafter the surrender, the full measure ofRising’s effects can only be imagined.

Dr Lucy Collins is a lecturerin English at UniversityCollege Dublin (UCD). She isthe curator of ‘Reading 1916’,a current exhibition at UCDSpecial Collections

READERS of the 1916 Collection have votedWB Yeats’ Easter 1916 as their favouriteof the ten ‘Rising Poems’ featured in themagazine series. Conducted in conjunction

with Independent.ie, Yeats’ poem claimedmore than a quarter of the preferences ofalmost 1,000 readers who voted.The voting went as follows:

WBYeats tops readers’ poll

the freedom to discuss and plot together.Another notable prisoner in Frongoch

was Arthur Shields, who would go onto become a popular Hollywood actorstarring in films such as ‘The Quiet Man’.The prison guards at Frongoch, soldiers

who were deemed too old or infirm to fighton the front during World War I, werehelpless to prevent political discussion.A recreation field which the inmates

used was named ‘Croke Park’ and hereCollins, then aged 26, and others wouldplay Gaelic football matches – often a teamfrom the North Camp facing a team fromthe South Camp. Hurling was banned inthe camp, as prison officers feared the menmight turn the hurls on them. Wrestlingtoo was popular amongst the prisoners.But though they did their best to keep fit

and stay upbeat, the damp and crampedconditions proved difficult, especiallyduring the winter months of 1916.The South Camp became rat-infested

and some believe the Irish word for rat –“francach” – may have derived from here.First-hand accounts and diary entries

by inmates tell how some found breathingdifficult while others struggled within theconfined living spaces. Collins wrote ina letter home that 30 men had to sleep ineach wooden hut.By the end of 1916 it became clear that

the British used the mass exodus of Irishprisoners to Frongoch as nothing morethan a PR exercise. As a military ploy, itwould dramatically back-fire within justtwo years.Indeed, David Lloyd George, having

succeeded Asquith as British primeminister, closed the camp just beforeChristmas 1916, as it had clearly become asource of national embarrassment to theBritish government.Today the camp sits idle with the old

distillery totally demolished and sheepgrazing in the field that separated SouthCamp from North Camp. The old trainplatform stands at the rear of a privatehome out of public view and only a smallplaque attached to a rock by the roadsidemarks the spot of the former camp – theUniversity of Revolution.

revolutionPOEM POET %Easter, 1916 WB Yeats 25.7The Foggy Dew Canon Charles O’Neill 17.3The Mother Patrick Pearse 13.4I See His Blood Upon the Rose Joseph Plunkett 11.3Connolly Liam Mac Gabhann 9.4The Wayfarer Patrick Pearse 7.8Imperial Measure Vona Groarke 5.5Comrades Eva Gore-Booth 3.6Wishes for my Son Thomas MacDonagh 3.5Sixteen Dead Men WB Yeats 2.5


PROFILE

Cathal Billings on how the Corkrepublican’s martyrdom inspiredrevolutionaries around the world

“If I die I know the fruit will exceed the costa thousand fold. The thought of it makesme happy. I thank God for it. Ah, Cathal,the pain of Easter week is properly deadat last.”

TERENCEMacSwiney wrotethese words in a letter toCathal Brugha on September30, 1920, the 39th day of hishunger strike. The pain herefers to is that caused by

his failure to partake in the 1916 EasterRising. Contradictory orders from Dublinand the failure of the arms ship, the Aud,to land arms in Tralee left the Volunteersin Cork unprepared for insurrection.Instead, they heeded Eoin MacNeill’s

countermand and called off Eastermanoeuvres. Only later on Easter Mondaydid MacSwiney learn of the Risingin Dublin and was haunted by guilt,resolving to make his own blood sacrificefor Ireland.His poem A Prayer, written while

in prison in July 1916, reveals thisdetermination:

Because I have endured the painOf waiting when my comrades dieLet me be swept in war’s red rainAnd friends and foes be justified.

Terence MacSwiney was born intoa staunchly nationalist, Cork Catholicfamily. His father emigrated to Australiain 1885 leaving behindeight children with theirmother. To help supporthis family, Terence, orTerry, left school at 15 andfound employment as anaccountancy clerk.He continued to study in

his free time, matriculatingin 1899 and gaining adegree in mental and moralsciences from the RoyalUniversity, Cork in 1907.In 1899 he joined

the Gaelic League andremained an activesupporter of the Irishlanguage throughout hislife.In 1901, he co-founded

the Cork Celtic Literary

Society which adopted a broad nationalistprogramme. In 1908, with his friendDaniel Corkery, he co-founded the CorkDramatic Society for which he wrote fiveplays. They were not written for art’s sakebut, as Corkery put it, “for the sake ofIreland”.MacSwiney was opposed to Home

Rule, describing it as a “half-measure”and instead pursued the republican ideal.He did not join the Irish RepublicanBrotherhood until just prior to theRising but wrote a series of articles forIrish Freedom between 1911 and 1912.He believed that secret societies such asthe IRB were divisive, preferring to keepthe fight for independence “straight andconsistent”.He explored this theme in his play,

The Revolutionist, written in 1914 butnot produced until after his death; alsoevident is MacSwiney’s fascination with

martyrdom, even priorto Easter 1916. Set in afictional Ireland after theenactment of Home Rule,the protagonist, HughO’Neill, is an idealisticseparatist who pursuesa more radical form ofnationalism, stating theneed for “soldiers, notconspirators.”Attempting to unite his

revolutionary colleagues,he works himself to death.Hugh’s last words areprophetic: “What’s thegood of being alive if wegive in?”MacSwiney was among

the founders of the CorkBrigade of the Volunteers

in late 1913. His own publication FiannaFáil, ‘A Journal for Militant Ireland,’ wassuppressed in December 1914 after only11 issues due to its extreme republicanand anti-British content. Throughout thistime he worked tirelessly recruiting andorganising Volunteer companies all overthe county in preparation for the Rising inwhich he would take no active part.He was interned in its aftermath, in

May 1916, and would spend the remainingfour years of his life in and out of jail.He was imprisoned in Wakefield, movedto Frongoch, known as ‘The Universityof Revolution,’ and finally to Reading,remaining there until December 1916.On his return to Ireland he again

became active with the Volunteers andwas interned from February to June 1917,during which time he married MurielMurphy, of the famous Cork brewingfamily. He was arrested in November 1917for wearing an IRA uniform in public and

immediately began his first hunger strike.He was released four days later. Thisaction was inspired by Thomas Ashe whobecame the first republican prisoner todie while on hunger strike that Septemberin Mountjoy, after being forcibly fed byprison officials.MacSwiney’s internment in March

1918 caused him to miss two major lifeevents – the birth of his daughter, Máire,in June, and his election to the first Dáil asTD for Mid Cork, in December. Releasedin Spring 1919, he took his seat. He servedon the Foreign Affairs committee and wasactive in areas of education, forestry andcommerce. He also played a significantrole in organising the Dáil loan, a keysource of finance for the republicangovernment.MacSwiney’s friend and comrade Tomás

Mac Curtain was elected as Lord-Mayorof Cork in January 1920 after Sinn Féin’ssuccess in local elections, but three

TERENCE MacSWINEY

Triumphof bloodsacrifice

“MacSwiney’sdetermination to

martyr himself wasapparent from theoutset, declaring

during his hearing:“I shall be free,alive or dead,

within the month”

SNAPSHOT

TERENCEMacSWINEY

Born: Cork, March 28, 1879

Educated: North Mon, RoyalUniversity (UCC)

Affiliation: IRB, Irish Volunteers

Career: TD, Lord Mayor

Died: Brixton Prison, London,October 25, 1920

Above: thegraduationphotographof TerenceMacSwiney.UCD ARCHIVES

Inset above:Cathal Billingsof UCD.Left: Irishpriests outsideBrixtonPrison duringthe inquestinto TerenceMacSwiney’sdeathGETTY IMAGES


PROFILE

months later was murdered by disguisedRoyal Irish Constabulary men in his home.MacSwiney succeeded him as mayor andalso assumed command of the 1st CorkBrigade of the IRA. He was arrested aftera meeting in Cork City Hall on August12 along with 10 others, on charges ofsedition and for allegedly possessing anRIC cipher.MacSwiney immediately began his

fateful hunger strike, protesting theauthority of the British court in theRepublic.Four days later he was sentenced by

court martial to two years in prison.The 1913 Prisoners Act, or ‘the Cat-and-Mouse Act’, set a precedent for the releaseof gravely ill prisoners, but the Britishgovernment was determined to stand theirground with MacSwiney, fearing mutinyin Ireland. This despite requests by KingGeorge V for his release.MacSwiney’s determination to martyr

himself was apparent from the outset,declaring during his hearing: “I shall befree, alive or dead, within the month.” Hedied 74 days later, on October 25, 1920.MacSwiney’s status as an elected official

and as Lord-Mayor ensured his hungerstrike reverberated in international press,playing out like a poignant drama; theNew York Times described it as “a gestureof deep tragedy on a stage where allmankind looks on”.His ordeal fixed international attention

on the fight for Irish independence andcast “a stain on the name of England”.Demonstrations were held in Boston andBuenos Aires, demanding his release.Longshoremen in New York downed tools.Trade unions and youth groups rioted inCatalonia. British parliament was dividedand public opinion quickly turned againsttheir government’s Irish policy.MacSwiney’s martyrdom took on

religious connotations. Described as

“deeply religious”, he received dailycommunion and a papal blessing beforehis death; it was even suggested thatsupernatural forces sustained himthrough his ordeal when death seemedimminent. Though the nature of his deathraised moral issues for the Church, he wasgranted a full Catholic funeral and burial– his death was not perceived as a suicide,but a tragedy caused by the cruelty of theEnglish oppressor.As many as 30,000 passed his coffin on

October 27 in Southwark before his bodywas brought home to his native Cork.The hanging of 18-year-old Kevin Barryone week later added fuel to the fire. Theperiod immediately after their deathssaw violence throughout Ireland reach itsclimax, finally culminating in a truce inJuly 1921.When The Revolutionist was shown

for the first time on stage, at the Abbey inFebruary 1921, it was a smash-hit.

Terence MacSwiney was by no meansthe only republican hunger striker of histime to die, yet it was his ‘triumph’ thatbrought hunger striking to the forefrontof public consciousness and proved anexamplar for others.In 1923, approximately 8,000 anti-

treaty prisoners began a hunger strikelasting, in the longest case, more than40 days, resulting in two deaths. Indiananti-colonialist Bhagat Singh quotedMacSwiney when faced with his ownexecution in 1931: “I am confident that mydeath will do more to smash the BritishEmpire than my release.”MacSwiney’s symbolic personal stand

against the empire was also cited asinspirational by Mahatma Gandhi, Ho ChiMinh and Nelson Mandela.

Dr Cathal Billings is a lecturer inmodern Irish in the UCD School ofIrish, Celtic and Folklore

xxx leftUCD UCD

Above: The front page of French newspaper Le Petit Journal from September1920 showing MacSwiney on hunger strike. Below: MacSwiney’s funeralprocession through London drew huge crowds. GETTY IMAGESRight: Typed extracts from The Principles of Freedomwritten by TerenceMacSwiney, printed in 1912. UCD ARCHIVES


THE 1916 COLLECTION

PART FIVE OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

Thursday 10 December 2015 www.independent.ie/1916

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IN PARTNERSHIPWITH

ÉAMONN CEANNT ANDTHE RISING ERUPTS

+ WB Yeats’s Easter 1916 and the Proclamation12 November 2015 I Irish Independent

PART FOUR OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

SEÁN MAC DIARMADA ANDTHE LEADERS OF THE RISING+ The influence of the Gaelic League and GAA

Thursday 26 November 2015 www.independent.ie/1916

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mothers&babies 112 November 2015 I Irish Independent

PART THREE OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

EOIN MACNEILLAND PLANNINGTHE REBELLION

+ Roger Casementand the recruitingtrips to Germany

Thursday 12 November 2015 www.independent.ie/1916

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PART TWO OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

JOSEPH PLUNKETT ANDASSEMBLING THE ARMIES+ Kathleen Lynn, doctor and revolutionary

Thursday 29 October 2015 www.independent.ie/1916

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PART ONE OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

PATRICKPEARSE ANDTHE ROAD TOREBELLION

From parliamentariansto paramilitaries

Friday 16 October 2015 www.independent.ie/1916

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TRICK DOYLEJOHNDOYLEAMES DUFFYRICHARDDUNLEA

ARDDUNNEJOHNDWAN

ARD ELLIOT

PETERENNISARDENNIS

ARNSWORTHJOHN JOSEPH FENNELL

FRANCIS FINLAYY FLETCHER

JOHN FRANCIS FOSTERTRICK FRIELT GAMBLEJOHNGIBNEYVID GLENNON

ORMLEYULDING

ALEXANDERGRAYWILLIAMGREGG

YHALLJOHNHANNA

THOMASHARBORNE

Y CHARLES DIXEY

PERCIVALHAVELOCKACHESON

JAMESFRANCISADAMSHENRYTHOMASWARDALLATTlTHOMASALLEN

BRIDGETALLENlJOSEPHCHRISTOPHERANDREWSJOHN HERBERT ARMSTRONG l JOHN BALLANTYNEALICE BAMBRICK l ARTHUR BANKSFREDERICKCHARLESBANTINGlGEORGEWILLIAMBARKSGEORGE WILLIAM BARNETT l HAROLD BARRATTJOHN BARRATT l BRIDGET BARRY l WILLIAM BARTERPATRICK BEALIN l JOHN BEIRNES l OSCAR BENTLEYJAMES BLAYNEY l JOHN SAMUEL BLISSETT l JAMES BLUNDELLHENRY BOND l HAROLD BOURNE l JOHN REGINALD BOWCOTTJAMESHORACEBRADFORDlJAMESBRADYlJOHNBRENNANFRANCIS A BRENNAN l MALACHY BRENNAN l JOHN BRENNAN

HAROLD BRINDLEY l PATRICK BROSNANGEORGEBROWNl MONTAGUEBERNARDBROWNE

FRANCIS HENRY BROWNINGJULIA BRUNELL l MARYBRUNSWICKLUCY BUCKLEY l WILLIAM FRANCIS BURKEFREDERICK WILLIAM ROBERT BURKERICHARD BUTLER l LOUIS BYRNEJOHN BYRNE l PATRICK BYRNEEDWARD BYRNE l JAMES BYRNEANDREWJAMESBYRNEl JAMESBYRNECHRISTINA CAFFREY l GEORGE WILLIAM CAHILLANNEJANECALDWELLl JAMESHOWARDCALVERT

MICHAEL CARR l WILLIAM CARRICKCHARLES CARRIGAN l JAMES JOSEPH CARROLL

ROGERCASEMENTJOSEPH CASEY l JAMES CASHMANCHRISTOPHER CATHCART l JAMES CAVANAGH

EAMONNCEANNTTHOMAS HENRY CHAPMAN l JAMES CHICKJOSEPHCLARKEl PHILIPCLARKEl RICHARDCLARKE

THOMASJCLARKEJAMES CLEARY l REGINALD FRANCIS CLERYJAMES JOSEPH COADE l ARTHUR ELIAS COBBOLDCORNELIUS COLBERT l MARY ANNE COLETHOMASALBERTCOLLINSlJULIACONDRONJOHN CONNOLLY l WILLIAM CONNOLLY

PETER CONNOLLY

JAMESCONNOLLYMARY CONNOLLY l CHRISTOPHER CONNORJOHNCOOKEl CORBINl JAMESCORCORANHERBERT JOHN CORDWELL l JAMES HAMLET CORNWELL

MARYANNECORRIGANlEDWARDCOSGRAVEEDWARD JOSEPH COSTELLO l JOHN COSTELLO

CHARLIE THOMAS DIXONCECIL EUSTACEDOCKERAY

BRENDANDONLAN l JOHNDONNELLY

THOMAS DONNELLYDOMINICK THOMAS DONOHOE

JOSEPHDONOHOEJAMES DOOLEY l DENIS DORGANMOSES DOYLE l JOHNDOYLEPATRICK DOYLE l JOHNDOYLE

STEPHEN PATRICK DOYLETHOMAS DOYLEl JOHNDOYLEDANIEL DOYLE l JAMES DUFFYCORNELIUS DUGGAN l RICHARDDUNLEA

MOSES DUNNE l EDWARDDUNNEJOHNDUNPHY l JOHNDWANMARY DWYER l ALFRED GODDARD ELLIOTT

ALFREDELLIS l PETERENNISGEORGEENNIS l EDWARDENNIS

PETER FAHEY l ERNEST FARNSWORTHJEREMIAH FARRELL l PATRICK FARRELL l JOHN FARRELLY l PAUL FEENEY l JOHN JOSEPH FENNELL

PATRICK FENNELL l ARTHUR FERRIS l PATRICK FETHERSTON l FRANCIS FINLAYJAMES FINNEGAN l WILLIAM FINNEGAN l JOHNHENRY FLETCHERJOHN FLYNN l MICHAEL FLYNN l THOMAS FORAN l JOHNROBERT FORTH l JOHN FRANCIS FOSTERWILLIAM FOX l JAMES FOX l ERNEST FOX l JAMES FRAZER l PATRICK FRIELWILLIAM FRITH l NEVILLE NICHOLAS FRYDAY l ROBERT GAMBLE

JOHNHENRY GIBBS l JOHNGIBNEYROBERT GLAISTER l DAVID GLENNONMICHAEL GLYNN l JAMES GORMLEYJOSEPHGOSS l ANDREWGOULDING

GEORGE GRAY l ALEXANDERGRAYPATRICK GREEN l WILLIAMGREGG

ROBERT CANTEBURYHALLWILLIAM JAMESHALLIDAY l JOHNHANNA

ELIZABETHHANRATTY l THOMASHARBORNE

JOHN COSTELLOJANE COSTELLO l THOMAS COUGHLAN

CLEMENT COURTNEY l THOMAS KEARSE COWLEYRICHARD COXON l HENRY COYLE l JOHN COYLE l JULIA CRAWFORD

JOHN CREAVEN l JOHN CRENIGAN l CHARLES LOVE CROCKETTJOHN CROMIEN l JOSEPH CULLEN l JAMES CUNNINGHAM

MARY CUNNINGHAM l ANDREWCHRISTOPHER CUNNINGHAM l FRANCIS CURLEYHAROLD CHARLES DAFFEN l MARGARET DALY l EDWARDDALY l CHARLES DARCY

ERNEST DAVENPORT l CATHERINE DAVIS l JOHNDAWSON l PATRICK DERRICKHARRYDICKINSON l THOMAS DICKSON l FREDERICK CHRISTIAN DIETRICHSEN

PATRICK DIGNAM l ROBERT DILLON l HENRY CHARLES DIXEY

GEORGE GEOGHEGANPATRICK JOSEPHGERAGHTY

JOSEPHGERAGHTY

THOMASHARRISON l WILLIAM VICTORHAWKEN l MORGANHAYESCHARLESHAYTER l JAMES DAVID ARTHURHEADLAND l JOHNHEALY

JAMES PATRICKHEALY l WILLIAMHEAVEY l ROBERT PATRICKHEENEYSEANHEUSTON l HENRYMEYRICKHEWETT l JAMESHICKEY l THOMASHICKEY

CHRISTOPHERHICKEY l CHRISTOPHERHEGGINS l PATRICKHOEY l JOHNHOEYJEREMIAHHOGAN l JAMESHOGAN l ARTHURHOLBROOK l LUKEHOLLAND

JOSEPHHOSFORD l JOHN BERNARDHOWARD l CHARLESHOYLEFREDERICK JOHNHUGHES l MICHAELHUGHES l JOHNWILLIAMHUMFREYHUMPHREYS

WILLIAMHENRYHUMPHRIES l GODFREY JACKSONHUNTER l JOHNHURLEYSÉANHURLEY l CHARLESHACHETTEHYLAND l PATRICK IVORS

WILLIAM EDGARMOY JAMES l PERCY JEFFSJAMES JESSOP l FRANK JOBBER

ROBERT JOHNSTON

HENRYHAREABRAHAMHARRIS

PATRICKHARRIS

CORNELIUSMARGARETPATHOMAS

How we told the story behind the 485 lives lost in 1916 in a simple logo

WEhave known for some time that the 100thanniversary of the Easter Rising was goingto be a seismic occasion, and early last yearI began to think about a way of telling thestory with a single image.I trawled archives looking for the photo-

graph that would spark the creative process,but it was when I saw the results of pains-

taking research from the Glasnevin Trust(www.glasnevintrust.ie) that I knew what Iwas going to do.The research is, essentially, a simple list of

names, but I found it so very powerful. It’s alist of themen,women and childrenwhowerekilled during and immediately after Easter1916, fromboth sides of the conflict, collateddefinitively for the very first time. Many ofthe 485 are buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

More than half of those killed were civil-ians, caught in the crossfire. Just under afifth were under 20 years old. And the thingthat got me — the nugget that somehowbrought it all home — was the inclusion ofthe deceased person’s middle name, whereavailable. JosephMary Plunkett. Died 4May,1916; Affiliation: Irish Volunteers.So, armed with this new information, I

set out to create something ‘big’ made up of

small details (the poster for the movie TheTruman Show is an outstanding example ofthis kind of design).When the people at Ireland 2016, the

Irish Independent and UCD saw the logoyou see above, I received three very fastthumbs-up. And since then, it has been mygreat pleasure to design the pages of the IrishIndependent 1916 Collectionwhich you nowhold in your hands.

Joe Coyle



TERENCE MacSWINEY ANDTHE LEGACY OF THE RISING+ De Valera and the politics of the new state


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THE 1916 COLLECTION

mothers&babies 118 February 2016 I Irish Independent

PART NINE OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

THOMAS CLARKE ANDTHE SURRENDER, TRIALS

AND EXECUTIONS+ The Rising that shook the world

Thursday 18 February 2016 www.independent.ie/1916

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mothers&babies 14 February 2016 I Irish Independent

PART EIGHT OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

CONSTANCE MARKIEVICZAND THE WOMEN OF 1916

+ Nurse O’Farrell: airbrushed from history

Thursday 4 February 2016 www.independent.ie/1916

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mothers&babies 121 January 2016 I Irish Independent

PART SEVEN OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

Thursday 21 January 2016 www.independent.ie/1916

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THOMAS MacDONAGHAND THE POETS’ REVOLTThe art and artists of the Easter Risingmothers&babies 17 January 2016 I Irish Independent

PART SIX OF TENSPECIAL MAGAZINES

JAMES CONNOLLYAND THE SIX-DAY

REBELLIONInside the GPO +

Civilians in the crossfire

Thursday 7 January 2016 www.independent.ie/1916

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AMES DUFFYRICHARDDUNLEA

ARDDUNNEAN

ARD ELLIOTT

PETERENNISARDENNIS

THJOHN JOSEPH FENNELL

FRANCIS FINLAYY FLETCHER

JOHN FRANCIS FOSTERTRICK FRIELT GAMBLEJOHNGIBNEYVID GLENNON

ORMLEY

CHRISTOPHER JORDANTHOMAS MORAN JOZÉ l JANE KANE

ERNEST KAVANAGH l CHARLES KAVANAGHMICHAEL KAVANAGH l ALEXANDER KEANE l JOHANNA KEARNS

CORNELIUS KEATING l FRANCIS KEEGAN l JOHN KEELY l ALBERT KEEPMARGARET KEHOE l LAURENCE KELLY l JAMES KELLY l DENIS KELLYPATRICK KELLY l MARY KELLY l MARY KENNY l RICHARD KENTTHOMASKENTl THOMASKENYONl MICHAELKEOGHl GERALDKEOGH

JOHNKIRWANl ALBERTJAMESKITCHENHENRY KNOWLES l FRANCIS WILLIAM WHITE KNOXMICHAEL LAHIFF l WILLIAM LANGPETER JOSEPHLAWLESS l CHRISTOPHERLAWLOR l MICHAEL LEAHYPATRICKLEENlMARYLENNONlKATELENNONlWILFREDLLEWELLYN

SAMUEL LONG l FRANCIS LUCAS l ALGERNON LUCASPATRICKLYNCHl JOHNHENRYMACNAMARA

SEANMACDIARMADA

THOMASMACDONAGHFRANCIS MACKEN l PETER (PAUL) MACKEN

ROBERTANDERSONMACKENZIEWILLIAMMAGUIRElMICHAELMALLINJOHN MALLON l MICHAEL MALONEPETER PAUL MANNING l PATRICK MARTINJOHN MCBRIDE l HARRIET MCCABEMICHAEL MCCABE l JOHN MCCARTHYJAMES MCCARTNEY l ALEXANDER MCCLELLANDJAMES MCCORMACK l JAMES MCCORMACK

JAMES MCCULLOUGHANDREW MCDONNELLWILLIAM MCDOWELL l JOHN MCELVERYEDWARD MCGALEY l CHARLES MCGEEMARGARETMCGUINESSlRICHARDMCHALEPATRICK MCINTYRE l BRIDGET MCKANEMICHAELMCKILLOPl JAMESMCLOUGHLINRAPHAEL MCLOUGHLIN l PATRICK MCMANUSJOHN MEAGHER l JOHN MEEGANTHOMAS MELEADY l JULIA MERONTHOMAS HENRY MILLERCHRISTOPHER MILLER l CHARLES MONAHANCHRISTOPHER MOORE l WILLIAM MOOREJAMES MOORE l ELIZABETH MORANMARY MORRIS l NATHANIEL MORTONJOHN MULHERN l WILLIAM MULLEN

LAURENCEMULLIGANWILLIAMMULRANEY l JAMES ARTHURMULVEY

MICHEALMULVIHILL l EDWARDMURPHY l RICHARDMURPHYJOHNMURPHY l GEORGINAMURPHY l CATHERINEMURPHY

JOHNMURRAY l JOSEPHYMURRAY l DANIEL JOSEPHMURRAY l ANNIEMYERSMARGARET NAYLOR l JOHNNEAL l PATRICK NEALAN l JAMES CRAWFORDNEIL

GERALD ALOYSIUS NEILAN l MARYNEILL l ALBERT NEWLAND l JAMES NOLAN l MARGARET NOLANMICHAEL NUNAN l ROBERT F. O’BEIRNE l JAMES O’BRIEN l JOHNO’CALLAGHAN l RICHARDO’CARROLL

JOHNO’CONNOR l MICHAEL O’CONNOR l PATRICK O’CONNOR l ELLENO’CONNOR l JOHNO’DONOGHUEJOHNO’DUFFY l RICHARDO’FLAHERTY l JOSEPHO’FLAHERTY l PATRICK JOSEPHO’FLANAGAN

CHARLES O’GORMAN l PATRICK O’GRADY l JOHNO’GRADY l EDWARDO’GRADYMICHAEL O’HANRAHAN l MARTIN O’LEARY l WILLIAMO’NEILL l JOHNO’REILLY

RICHARDO’REILLY l THOMAS JOSEPHO’REILLYO’TOOLE l MICHAEL JOSEPHO’RAHILLY l CLARENCE OSBORNE l JOHNOWENS

PADRAIGPEARSEWILLIAM PEARSETHOMAS PENTONY

PERCY VIVIAN CLAUDE PERRYHARRY PHILLIPS l GEORGE PIERCE

GUY VICKERY PINFIELDGEORGE ALEXANDER PLAYFAIR

JOSEPHMARY PLUNKETTJAMES POWER l CHRISTINA PURCELL l PHILIP ADDISON PURSER l JAMES QUINNELIZABETHQUIRK l THOMAS RAFFERTY l ALAN LIVINGSTONE RAMSAY l MARY REDMONDCHRISTOPHERREDMOND l REILLY l JOHNREILLY l THOMAS REILLY l GEORGE REYNOLDSPATRICK REYNOLDS l WILLIAM JOHNRICE

HAROLDRODGERS l THOMAS F. ROURKEWILLIAMNELSONROWE l PATRICK RYANFREDERICK RYAN l GEORGE PERCY SAINSBURYFRANCIS SALMON l CHARLES SAUNDERSARTHURJAMESSCARLETTl ABSLONESCHERZINGERWALTER ERIC SCOTT l JOHN SHANAGHERJOSEPH SHARGINE l DANIEL SHEEHANFRANCIS JOSEPHCHRISTOPHER SHEEHY-SKEFFINGTON

FLORENCE SHEILS l HENRY SHEPHERDJOHNHENRY SHERWOOD l PATRICK SHORTISALFRED SIBLEY l VINCENT PAUL SIMPSONARTHUR CHARLES SMITH l HENRY SMYTHELIZABETH SMYTH l BERT SPEED

TIMOTHY SPELLMAN l PATRICK STEPHENSONBRIDGET STEWART l JOHN STILLMAN

HOLDEN STODART l GEORGE SYNNOTROSANNA TAAFFE l DAVID PERCIVAL TEMPESTJOHN A THOMPSON l MARY TIMMONSJOHN JOSEPH TRAYNOR l THOMAS TREACYPATRICK TREVORl WALTERASTLE TUNNICLIFFEALFRED TYLER l PRUDENCE VANTREEN

EDWARD CARDEN VARNALSMARGARETMARY VEALE l WILLIAMWALKER

KATEWALSH l PHILIPWALSH l EDWARDWALSH

JOHNWALSH l PHILIPWALSHJAMES JOSEPHWALSH l AUSTIN JOSEPHWALTON

ELEANORWARBROOK l ALFRED ERNESTWARMINGTON l ARTHURWARNER l ABRAHAMWATCHORN

RICHARDWATERS l WILLIAMWATSON l FELIX JOSEPHWATTRESTHOMAS JOSEPHWEAFER l WILLIAMWEST l PATRICKWHELAN l PATRICKWHELAN

CHRISTOPHERWHELAN l DANIELWHELAN l SARAHWHELANJOHNWHELAN l MYLESWHITE l ELIZABETHWILKINSONDAVIDWILSON l PETERWILSON l ALBERT EDWARDWOOD

RICHARDWOODCOCK l BASIL HENRYWORSLEY-WORSWICKWILLIAM THOMAS PERCYWRIGHT l GEORGEWYLD

SIDNEY LEONARD YOUNGJOHN YOUNG

COLLECTION1916

IN PARTNERSHIPWITH UCD AND IRELAND 2016


AFTER THE RISING

Building a nation from the rubble of1916 was a process replicated on thepathway to freedom in several othercountries, writes ConorMulvagh

THE Easter Proclamation wasby no means the only visionfor an Irish future to havebeen circulating a centuryago. It is interesting to studythe history of failed projects.

One such project was that of creating anew Irish identity during the First WorldWar. Championed by Irish party leaderJohn Redmond, the intention was to movebeyond the racial and religious constructsof Irish identity which had dominated 19thcentury thinking. Redmond’s wish wasthat orange and green could come togetherin the trenches to forge a new civic form ofIrish identity.Like Pearse’s vision of a new Ireland,

Redmond’s relied on blood sacrifice. Thisshould come as no surprise. Australialikewise established a modern identitythrough the blood sacrifice and mateshipwith the invention of an idealisedAustralian masculinity in the ‘digger’. Thisis analogous to the wartime reinventionof the British ‘Tommy’ and the ‘Poilu’ inFrance.Whereas modern national identities

were successfully shaped through British,French, and especially Australian serviceand sacrifice, in the Irish case, the visionof a non-sectarian new Irish identityfailed.The greatest hope

for this new Irishnesswas encapsulated in the10th (Irish) Division.Comprised of Catholicsand Protestants from allfour corners of the islandof Ireland, John Redmondhoped that this, the prideof Irish manhood wouldbecome the foundationstone of a civic and non-partitioned Home Rulenation.The 10th served

alongside British andANZAC forces at Gallipoli.Despite the bravery of itssoldiers, the division failedto turn the crippling losses

suffered into a triumph of failure. In thewords of Bryan Ricco Cooper, sometimeUnionist MP for south Dublin and Major ofthe 10th (Irish) Division, ‘[Suvla] is a namewhich has brought sorrow to many homes,and which will be perpetually associatedwith failure, but there are many gloriousmemories associated with it.’Cooper wrote the official history of

the 10th (Irish) Division at Gallipoli in1917. The book in itself was an attemptto salvage the ‘glorious memories’ of theaction there. In a passionate and heartfeltintroduction to the book, written onSt Patrick’s Day 1917, John Redmondstruggled to vindicate the sacrifices of hisbeloved 10th Division.Redmond’s words, along with Cooper’s

book itself, represent one of the firmestarticulations of this project for a newIreland. Redmond hoped in vain thatthe carnage of Suvla Bay, rather than thePaschal sacrifice of the rebels, could healthe sectarian divide in Irish society andavert partition. In this regard, Redmondand Pearse shared an improbable ideal.Redmond’s introduction claimed

that: ‘No Division in any theatre of theWar suffered more severely or showedgreater self-sacrifices and gallantry.And yet, largely, I fancy, by reason of the

fact that its operationswere in a distant theatre,comparatively littlehas been heard of itsachievements’.Trying to salvage the

political project behindthe then decimated10th Division, Redmondcontinued: ‘The men whohad differed in religionand politics, and theirwhole outlook on life,became brothers in the10th Division. Unionist andNationalist, Catholic andProtestant, as Major BryanCooper says — “lived andfought and died side byside, like brothers.” Theycombined for a common

purpose: to fight the good fight for libertyand civilisation, and, in a special way, forthe future liberty and honour of their owncountry.’If this was Redmond’s failed project

for a united Ireland won in the trenches,what of the simultaneous Ulster unionistproject to ensure regional exclusion fromany Home Rule settlement through theirwartime sacrifices?

Where Redmond failed, Carsonsucceeded. The 36th (Ulster) Divisionfound its showdown not on the Turkishperiphery but at the Somme. Buttressed bythe Boyne narrative, the Somme reinforceda powerful Ulster Protestant identityfor unionists. The fusion of communityties and imperial loyalty were perfect inarticulating Ulster unionist identity whenJames Craig’s Northern Irish cabinet

As dust settled, whose

“If this was Redmond’sfailed project for a

united Ireland won inthe trenches, what of thesimultaneous Ulster

unionist project to ensureregional exclusion from

any Home Rulesettlement through their

wartime sacrifices?Where Redmond failed,

Carson succeeded


AFTER THE RISING

Ireland was it anyway?

established the only true ‘Home Rule’government ever seen on this island in1921.Ireland’s transition from empire to

independence is one for which broadparallels can be found in other regions ofthe globe. Two closely aligned processes:self-determination and decolonisationoccurred in the 20th century and raise thequestion — to which of these does Ireland

more closely conform?If the Wilsonian self-determination was

the vision the rebels saw for themselves, theother global parallel was decolonisation.In the way Ireland developed bothinternally and internationally duringthe 20th century, it demonstrated manypost-colonial traits. The development ofits political system, the incrementallyachieved sovereignty of the state, and

the contested definition of the nationalterritory were experiences shared by post-1945 ‘nation-states’ such as India, Nigeria,and Tanzania to name but a few.One aspect of Ireland’s independence

that is often spoken about, as if it issomehow unique, is partition. However,partition was in fact more the rule thanthe exception for many countries duringthe 20th century.

India was famously partitionedin 1947 and this parallel is easily theclosest to the Irish case. Two-state ormulti-state state solutions form partof the histories of Germany, Korea,Cyprus, Yugoslavia, Nigeria/Biafra,Congo/Katanga, Israel/Palestine, andCzechoslovakia. More recently, newborders saw the birth of new states inEast Timor, Kosovo, and South Sudan.Secession is an unresolved

phenomenon across the modernworld. Independence movements of alltypes can be found everywhere fromthe disputed oblasts of former Sovietrepublics, to the Balkans, Catalonia,Scotland, and the Kurdish territories.It seems as if the corollary of

increasing supranational integration —through entities such as the EuropeanUnion, NATO, and the African Union— is that calls for greater regionalautonomy have increased rather thansubsided.Returning from the present to the

past, what of those different visions ofIrishness being articulated a centuryago? Is it worth wondering whyRedmond’s vision for a new Irelandfailed whereas the foundation narrativesof the GPO and the Somme succeeded indifferent communities.However admirable Redmond’s vision

for a shared history was, it did not receivea mandate. The war service upon whichit was based was unpopular even in 1915;by 1918 it had become toxic among Irishnationalists. Equally, despite Redmond’srhetorical appeasement of unionistconcerns, elements of the Home Rulemovement remained deeply clerical,overtly sectarian, and unsupportive of anindustrialised economic model such asexisted in the northeast.History is important but imagination

can be even more powerful. The twoIrelands created in the 1920s both foundtheir mythologised origin points in 1916,one in the rubble of Dublin and one in themud of the Somme.As important as these events were in

fact, they became colossal in collectivememory. It is not so much a question ofwhose Ireland, but of which Ireland. Eventoday, history must compete with rivalmythologies.

Dr Conor Mulvagh is a lecturerin Irish History at the School ofHistory at University CollegeDublin (UCD) with specialresponsibility for the Decade ofCommemorations

Above: ARoyal IrishFusilier fromthe 10thDivisionteases aTurkish sniperfrom theWorldWarOne trenchesin 1917.

Left: JohnRedmond in1910.GETTY IMAGES

Main: ConorMulvaghoutside theGPO.MARKCONDREN

borders saw the birth of new states inEast Timor, Kosovo, and South Sudan.

phenomenon across the modernworld. Independence movements of alltypes can be found everywhere fromthe disputed oblasts of former Sovietrepublics, to the Balkans, Catalonia,Scotland, and the Kurdish territories.

increasing supranational integration —through entities such as the EuropeanUnion, NATO, and the African Union— is that calls for greater regionalautonomy have increased rather thansubsided.

past, what of those different visions ofIrishness being articulated a centuryago? Is it worth wondering whyRedmond’s vision for a new IrelandAbove: A


AFTER THE RISING

‘YOU are soldiers, and bearyourself as such. Holdyour heads up and marchas smartly as if you wereon parade — taking nonotice of anyone, and

looking neither to right or left”.These words of advice were offered

by Michael Mallin, commandant of thegarrison occupying St Stephen’s Green, tothe Irish Citizen Army women attached tothe garrison, having received the order tosurrender. As they left the Royal Collegeof Surgeons, they received “great ovation”from the crowd who had gathered.Their comrades, members of the

Inghinidhe na hÉireann branch ofCumann na mBan stationed at thedistillery at Marrowbone Lane withÉamonn Ceannt’s battalion, also marchedalongside the Volunteer soldiers. However,the 22 women under their officer incharge, Rose McNamara, chose tosurrender alongside the men, the onlygroup of women who did so.McNamara “presented herself to the

British officer in charge, announcingthey were part of the garrison and weretherefore surrendering with the others”,thus ensuring that they would be arrested.The women were held at Kilmainham Gaolfor a week and comprised the majorityof the 77 women arrested and detainedfollowing the Rising.Nell Gifford explained the thinking of

many of the women who were arrested:“The Republic promised us equalitywithout sex distinction, so we were alladjudged soldiers, women and men,whether we worked as dispatch carriersor Red Cross units”. The women did notview their arrest as shameful. Indeed, the

opposite was very much the case. HelenaMolony’s friends joked that her relativelybrief imprisonment had been “speciallyhard on her” as she had “looked forward toit all her life”.Those arrested as a result of their

activities in the Rising maintained thatthey were prisoners of war, not convicts,and therefore not like ordinary criminals.Senia Paseta has argued that the women’ssocial background may have contributedto, what she has termed, “their sense oftheir own elevated status”.One such example was Brigid Lyons,

who “refused to share a cell with an‘undesirable person’”(a prostitute) and wassubsequently moved to a room of her own,thus suggesting that the gaolers likewise“endorsed the existence ofsocial segregation withinthe prison”.Similarly, Dr Kathleen

Lynn maintained thatwhen she and threeothers were transportedto Mountjoy, they were“hailed rather with joy bythe wardesses because wewere interesting prisoners.We were not like ordinarycriminals”.While the majority of the

women were treated well

during their internment, the execution ofthe leaders of the Rising greatly affectedthem, as they could hear the shots fromtheir cells. Winifred Carney recalled thatearly on the morning of May 3 she was:“awakened by the sound of firing and, inthe after stillness, a low clear voice givesthe order to quick march. They must bebelow our cell window …My heart sinks,for I know the first of the executions hasbegun … but for many mornings to comewe shall awake to that close noise of riflefiring and the crisp voice of the officer incommand”.In an effort to keep up their spirit, the

women sang songs, including ‘Die Wachtam Rhein’ and ‘Deutschland über Alles’,and danced Irish dances during exercise

in the yard, which wassoon banned by the prisonauthorities.The majority of the 77

women arrested duringthe Rising were releasedwithin a week; 56 werereleased on May 8, with afurther seven released byMay 10. On June 26, fivewomen —Winifred Carney,Brigid Foley, HelenaMolony, Ellen O’Ryanand Maria Perolz — weretransported to Lewes

Prison in England under the Defence of theRealm Act (DORA) “on the ground that sheis of hostile association and is reasonablysuspected of having favoured, promotedor assisted an armed insurrection againsthis majesty”. Countess Plunkett and DrLynn were also deported to England underDORA, and were to reside at specificaddresses at Oxford and Bath respectively,to be agreed with authorities.Following an announcement by the

Home Secretary, Herbert Samuel, in whichhe stated that it was likely that many ofthose who had taken part in the Rising“were kept in ignorance by their leadersand thought they were being called up fora route march on Easter Monday”, Foleyand Perolz, along with 860 men, werereleased in July 1916. Carney, Molony andO’Ryan were not released, instead beingtransferred to Aylesbury Prison. CountessMarkievicz was subsequently transferredto the same location fromMountjoy onAugust 7. O’Ryan was released on October17 and Carney and Moloney on December23, in a general release of female prisoners.Countess Markievicz was not released

at that point due to her life sentence, herdeath sentence having been commuted onaccount of her being a woman. The lastfemale prisoner, she was released in June1917.

Dr Emma Lyons (UCD School ofHistory) was a researcher for theWorld War I Ireland: Exploringthe Irish Experience exhibitioncurrently running at theNational Library of Ireland,where she also held the ResearchStudentship in Irish History

‘Carry yourself as soldiers’Countess Markievicz arrives at Liberty Hall in Dublin marking the return of Irish Republican prisoners from England in June 1917. UCD ARCHIVES PETER PAUL GALLIGAN PAPERS

“The women did not viewtheir arrest as shameful...Helena Molony’s friendsjoked that her relativelybrief imprisonment hadbeen ‘specially hard onher’ as she had ‘lookedforward to it all her life’

EmmaLyons on the fatethat met the female rebelsafter the surrender in 1916


SOCIETY

IT took hard work andresourcefulness to source thedaily sustenance to satisfy hungerand thirst in 1916. Whether itwas growing vegetables, raisinglivestock or working for a wage,

most food had to be prepared and cooked.For the majority of people, boiling, fryingand baking were the main methods ofcooking and all required fire. A largegable hearth, using self-cut turf, alloweda number of pots to be hung over the heat,while a small open fireplace, using coal inurban areas, limited the size of the cookingvessel. In wealthier homes, cooking tookplace in the basement staffed by domesticservants.As a predominantly agricultural

country, meat formed an importantpart of the diet. With no refrigeration,it was essential to cook meat as soon aspossible. There was little waste and thewhole animal was consumed ‘nose to tail’.Drisheen, for example, was a blood (orblack) pudding, and a crubeen the boiledfoot of a pig. Kidneys, liver and tripe(the stomach lining of a cow or pig) werepopular, along with brawn (jellied meat)and hazlett (a meatloaf). Mutton wastougher than lamb, but it was cheaper. Indwellings with a single fireplace, one-potcooking led to the inventiveness of coddle(boiled rashers, onions and potatoes), andvarious kinds of stews and broths.Oatmeal, buttermilk and potatoes were

a constant in rural areas and versatilitywas applied to baking. The ingredientscould be mixed with flour to make farls,boxty (thin pancake) and fadge (a type ofbread). Oatcakes were produced by mixinghot water and salt and cooked over the fire.The main meal times were breakfast,

dinner — eaten in the middle of the day— and tea. The morning meal includedporridge, tea and bread, buttered for thosewho could afford it.The staple breakfast for the well-off

was bacon and eggs, or boiled eggs andtoast. In 1913, however, the medicaljournal ‘The Lancet’, suggested that abacon and eggs breakfast was “bad andquite unnecessary” because it “sloweddown thought processes”. It suggestedadopting a continental breakfast of coffeeand a roll. ‘The Irish Times’ disagreed,proposing it would “leave workers hungryby mid-morning, and that the result wouldbe Dublin restaurants full at 11am withbusinessmen indulging in four-coursemeals.”Dinner was made up of, in varying

forms, boiled meat, potatoes andvegetables, which were mainly carrots,turnips, peas and cabbage. An Irishdoctor asserted at the time that thepoor “have nothing except cabbage andSwedish turnips, and they hardly ever usepeas or beans or celery, or any of thosethings. It is always cabbage. In fact, forthe Sunday dinner, very often, the mealconsists of bacon and cabbage. I do notknow any country in the world where somuch bacon and cabbage is eaten”.For Catholics, meat was not allowed to

be eaten on Fridays and was substitutedby herring or mackerel. Burdock’s fishand chip shop opened in 1911 nearChristchurch in Dublin and businesswas brisk on Fridays. An evening mealconsisted of bread, maybe with jam, orfried in dripping (animal fat) for taste.Processed white bread was cheaper than

Crubeens, tripe and cabbage

TEAWRECKS?

Feeding your family in 1916 took hardwork and resourcefulness, writesFergusCassidy

home made, but less nutritious. Drinkingtea made with leaves became popular fromthe turn of the century (see panel).Getting water for cooking and drinking

could mean a short walk. A well or springmight be close to a dwelling, but it neededto be found and excavated in the firstplace.Some towns had communal hand pumps

covered outhouse containing a woodenplank with a hole, and emptied into whatwas called an ash pit.For an alternative, the writer Maura

Laverty wrote about a visiting relative whoasked for the toilet in a Kildare farmhousein 1915: “M’Cabe took him to the backdoor... ‘There you are now amhic. Thewhole Bog of Allen is wide open to you’.”

British troops searching a bread van for arms in 1916. IRISH INDEPENDENT/NPA

IRELAND IN 1916

and in the cities one pump might servicemany buildings. Rain water was harvestedand used for washing and cleaning. Inthe well-off parts of Dublin, water wasavailable on tap, piped from a reservoir inRoundwood, Co Wicklow.Piped water coming in meant that waste

water could be flushed into the seweragesystem. Others used dry closets, a small,

A familysettlesdown fora festivetea at theturn of thecentury.

GETTY IMAGES

A headline in ‘TheNew York Times’ inMay 1910 declared:‘Tea is Ireland’sEvil — Ranks beforeAlcohol as an Enemyof Public Health’. Thepaper reported thatthe “teapot stewingon the hearth all daylong is literally on tap;the members of thefamily, young as wellas old, resorting to itat discretion.”

This was anexample of fearsabout the effects oftea which had beenbrewing for theprevious 30 years.It was estimatedin 1904 that teaconsumption in ruralIreland averaged9oz per person, and12oz in urban areas.Moral panic over teaincluded the dangersof excitability, over-stimulation of bodyandmind, that it

was being drunk for“sensory stimulation”,and that it wasaddictive, leadingto physical cravings.“Tea drunkards” wasone of the terms usedto warn of the threat,with consequenceswhich includedheadache, insomnia,

mental confusion,hallucinations andmorbid depression ofspirits.

The 1901 censusrecords a patientin the Ennis PublicAsylumwho wasthere because of“excessive teadrinking”. An article

by the superintendentof Enniscorthy DistrictAsylum in the medicaljournal ‘The Lancet’warned that “... wesee its [tea] effectsin the number ofpale-faced children,who are brought upon it instead of theold time-honoured,

but now nearlyabandoned, porridgeandmilk”.

In 1883 ‘The IrishTimes’ reportedthat “tea was anunsuitable principalfood for adults andwas harming thephysical well-beingof young childrenforced to subsist uponnothing else, as wassuspected to be toooften the case amongIreland’s lower classes.Tea-making to excessamong this class is aform of laziness whichproduces – there canbe no doubt about it –mischievous results...”.

The paper wenton to predict “littleless than our generalphysical andmoraldecadence as apeople and nationif we persevere inour addiction tothe pleasures of theteapot”.


AFTER THE RISING

ThomasMurray explores howrevolutionary ideals were watereddown in the 1922 Constitution

WHAT ideas inspiredthe men and womenwho rose up in 1916?How did those ideasfare in the Irish FreeState founded in 1922?

In his book, Fire in the Minds of Men,the historian James Billington traces analmost invisible thread of incendiary ideasthat inspired faith in revolutionary socialtransformation across Europe from the1700s to the early 1900s. All had a commongenesis in the motto of the FrenchRevolution, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’.In Ireland, too, the 1916 rebels

shared common ideological roots in theEnlightenment-era republicanism ofthe United Irishmen, and the romanticnationalism of Young Ireland. Inparticular, the alliance of nationalistsand socialists, notably Patrick Pearse andJames Connolly, found common groundin the writings of the mid-19th centuryagrarian agitator, James Fintan Lalor.At the height of the Great Famine

in Ireland and the 1848 Revolutions inEurope, Lalor advanced a dangerous idea:the principle “that the entire ownershipof Ireland, moral and material, up to thesun and down to the centre, is vested ofright in the people of Ireland; that they,and none but they, are the landowners andlawmakers of this island”.Of course, the men and women of 1916

had different understandings of whoexactly should own Ireland in the eventof their success. In a curious inversion ofthe European Enlightenment tradition,Irish republicanism in the early 1900s

accentuated the role of Catholicism indefining ‘the people’.Mother Church’s self-appointed

role as mediator between peasant andlandlord, nation and empire, had all butensured this anomaly. Republicanismthus involved the spiritual work ofundoing Holy Ireland’s confiscation andanglicisation by a materialist superpower.Conversely, the Irish Citizen Army,admittedly a much smaller groupingin the GPO, drew inspiration from therecent upsurge in labour movementsinternationally.Advocating syndicalism (or ‘Larkin-ism’

in a Dublin accent), the ICA claimed thatthe fields and factories belonged to thosewho worked them, a right that could berealised through forming one big unionand mounting a general strike of allworkers. Naturally, the owners of thosefields and factories, the Catholic hierarchyand Arthur Griffith’s Sinn Féin party werestaunchly opposed to socialist ideas ofredistribution as ‘godless’, ‘alien’, and even‘anti-national’.Remarkably, for a brief

period after the Rising,ordinary men and womenmade the principle ofthe popular ownershipa living reality. A massboycott campaign brokethe threat of conscriptionin 1918. Organised labourwas notably resurgentthereafter. Between 1918and 1923, five generalstrikes and 18 local strikes

occurred. Irish workers refused to handleweapons for the British military, a factorcrucial to the IRA’s success. Workers alsotook over the running of more than 80workplaces and established soviets at theCleeves factory in Limerick, at the foundryin Drogheda, Co Louth and in the coalmines of Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny.The West was particularly awake.

Farmers and labourers revived midnightcampaigns of intimidation to expropriateand redistribute land. A network ofpopularly elected, local arbitration courtssprung up, sometimes to decide the termsof land redistribution. For the first timein Ireland, landlords were forcibly oustedfrom their homes. In these circumstances,the country’s wealthier land ownerseventually turned fromWestminster to theSinn Féin party to put an end to ‘agrarianBolshevism’ and restore law and order.The making of the 1922 Irish Free

State Constitution shows how nationalistleaders were already retreating fromdangerous ideas of popular ownership.As the Anglo-Irish Treaty split the anti-

colonial movement, HughKennedy, the ProvisionalGovernment’s seniorlaw officer, argued thatpopular disorder wouldhave to be overcome by‘utterly ruthless action’such as that used by theReichswehr-Freikorpsin crushing the recentSpartacist uprising inWeimar Germany.Unsurprisingly, the

1922 Constitution was a conservativeinstrument. It established a Westminster-style parliamentary system of governmentunder a type of constitutional monarchy.Although it contained guarantees of civiland political rights, substantive judicialreview would remain inoperative for ageneration.There were some changes. Provisions

for direct democracy notably facilitateda citizen’s initiative process to amendthe constitution and to draft legislation.Interestingly, Kennedy believed suchprovisions would have a ‘chilling’ effecton revolutionary movements. Subsequentgovernments, however, amended theConstitution to stop these provisionscoming into effect. This ultimatelyconservative Constitution belies theradical proposals advanced during itsdrafting.In fact, ideas of popular ownership

featured prominently during the earlydrafting stage at the Shelbourne Hoteland later Constituent Assembly debatesat Dáil Éireann. In the spring of 1922,drafters such as James Douglas andDarrell Figgis initially included whatthey called “the Pearse statement” in theopening articles, explicitly providing for“the right of every citizen to an adequateshare of the produce of the nation’slabour”.Clement France, a visiting US lawyer,

similarly claimed that the private controlof natural resources and public utilities“would be subversive of the welfare ofthe general public”. He explained: “Thepersons who control and own the great

Igniting firein minds ofIrish menand women

Left: Thomas MurrayCAROLINE QUINN

Right: the Irish delegation,including Éamon de Valeraand Sinn Féin founderArthur Griffith, in London forthe Treaty negotiations in1921. Far right: Darrell Figgis,who helped frame the 1922Free State Constitution.GETTY IMAGES

“The country’s wealthierlandowners turned fromWestminster to the SinnFéin party to put an endto ‘agrarian Bolshevism’and restore law and order


AFTER THE RISING

Natural Resources of the Country alsocontrol the freedom and wellbeing of thepeople…The result has been in Americathat notwithstanding a Republican andDemocratic Government, an economicautocracy has developed which controlsthe Government of the Country and thepersonal liberties of the people almost aseffectively as was ever done by an absolutemonarchy”.Later that autumn, Labour party TDs

such as TJ O’Connell proposed provisionssuch as children’s rights and welfaresupports for citizens.Proposals associating the popular

ownership of Ireland with wealthredistribution soon suffered ignominiouserasure. Laissez-faire economist andgovernment adviser, George O’Brienrejected claims that citizens shouldreceive “an adequate share” of the nation’swealth, claiming “I do not know what thelast sentence of the present article means”.At Westminster, British Law Officers

disliked the “Soviet character” of theopening articles and claimed they were “ofcommunistic tendency”. Hugh Kennedy,negotiating on behalf of the ProvisionalGovernment, agreed that it was “anunnecessary declaration” and acquiescedin the offending provision’s removal.During the Constituent Assembly

debates that autumn, WT Cosgraveclaimed the principle of economicsovereignty was unnecessary window-dressing. Echoing the British Law Officers,Kevin O’Higgins similarly declaredit would be unwise “to embody in theconstitution what certainly looks very

much like a Communistic doctrine”.Buoyed by its recent electoral victory,

the Provisional Government only securedits capacity to enforce these decisions inlate 1922. Having effectively ended thecivil war as a military contest, it thereafterquashed or conciliated residual outbreaksof agrarian or labour militancy.Today, recent experiences of “democratic

deficits” and popularly unaccountablemarket forces prompt us to return tothe question posed by the 1916 rebels:who owns Ireland? Recent anti-austerityprotests renew long-standing claimsfor rights to “an adequate share” of thenation’s wealth. Similarly, as evidencedby recent water charges demonstrations,the private control of natural resourcesand public utilities is not infrequentlyperceived to be “subversive of the welfareof the general public”.Perhaps the idea of the popular

ownership of society remains a dangerousone for the powerful and wealthy. In suchcircumstances, whether celebrated orcommemorated, the 1916 Rising is likely tobe remembered so long as men and womenbelieve that Ireland and its future belongto them.

Dr Thomas Murray is Lecturer inEquality Studies at UCD Schoolof Social Policy, Social Workand Social Justice. His book,‘Contesting Economic and SocialRights in Ireland: Constitution, Stateand Society: 1848-2016’ is in press withCambridge University Press

While many veterans achieved high office,the descendants of the 1916 leaders wereless fortunate, writesGerard Siggins

O NCE the fighting was done,many participants in the Risingand the subsequent conflictsplayed important roles in Irish

politics. For decades, to have been “out”in 1916 almost seemed a pre-requisite forhigh office. Presidents Seán T O’Kelly(GPO) and Éamon de Valera (Boland’s Mill)saw action, as did taoisigh WT Cosgrave(South Dublin Union), de Valera and SeánLemass (GPO).Several of the 16 executed men left

behind wives, children and siblings whoentered politics after the formation of theDáil and independence, but surprisinglyfew were successful.The son of Major John MacBride and

Maud Gonne was the most notable. SeánMacBride had been chief of staff of theIRA for a few months in 1936, but laterset up the republican socialist partyClann na Poblachta. He was elected tothe Dáil in the Dublin County by-electionin 1947 and in three subsequent generalelections in Dublin South West. Hisparty won 10 seats in 1948 and joined theInter-Party Government with MacBrideas Minister for External Affairs. In thisportfolio he played important roles inthe implementation of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights and thedeclaration of the Irish Republic in 1949.He lost his seat in 1957 and tried three

more times but was never elected againand returned to practise as a barrister. Hewas awarded the Nobel and Lenin PeacePrizes in the 1970s.Patrick Pearse’s mother, Margaret

Pearse, was elected unopposed to the 2ndDáil in 1921 but was unseated on the finalcount the following year when she stood inDublin County as an anti-treaty Sinn Féincandidate. In 1933, her daughter MargaretMary Pearse ran for Fianna Fáil and wasthe last of eight TDs elected in DublinCounty. She failed to be returned in 1937but was elected to the Seanad where sheremained until her death in 1968. She stillholds the record for the longest unbrokenservice in the upper house.

Kathleen Clarke was the widow of TomClarke and was a vocal member of the1st and 2nd Dála where she opposed theTreaty. She failed to win her seat in DublinMid County in the 1922 election as ananti-Treaty Sinn Féiner, but was re-electedfor Fianna Fáil in Dublin North in June1927. That Dáil lasted just a few weeks andshe lost her seat in November and failedat a by-election in 1928. She served in theFree State Seanad until it was abolishedin 1936.She was also the first female Lord Mayor

of Dublin (1939-41) and at the age of 70contested the 1948 general election forClann na Poblachta but didn’t come closeto capturing a seat.Two of James Connolly’s children

served in the Oireachtas. Roddy Connollyran for Labour in five general electionsand a by-election in Louth from 1943-54,winning twice. He later ran unsuccessfullyin Dublin South Central. Nora ConnollyO’Brien had been a founding member ofthe Young Republicans, the female wingof Na Fianna, and was 23 when her fatherwas shot. She was involved with severalfar-left groupings and corresponded withLeon Trotsky, but from 1957 to 1969, sheserved three Seanad terms as a nominee ofthe Taoiseach.Michael O’Hanrahan’s brother Henry

O’Hanrahan was also given a deathsentence for his role in the Rising at theJacob’s factory, but it was commuted to lifeimprisonment. He ran for the Dáil in 1924but failed to be elected on the Republicanticket in Dublin North when his better-known running-mates Seán T O’Kelly andErnie O’Malley were returned.Tom Kent’s brother David Kent was a

member of the first Dáil and re-electedin 1921 and 1922 as an anti-treaty SinnFéin candidate. He was elected again as aRepublican for Cork East in 1923 and forSinn Féin in June 1927, which was his lasttime to stand. His brother, William Kent,was elected for Fianna Fáil in September1927, and the National Centre Party in 1933but did not contest in 1937.

Political heirsto the rebellion

Seán MacBride, former Chief of Staff of the IRAand founder of Clann na Poblachta (above) andPatrick Pearse’s mother, Margaret (right).GETTY, IRISH INDEPENDENT


PROFILE

Grassroots protests over land reformended in bloody siege at Kent familyfarm, writesRichardMcElligott

THOMAS KENT was thefourth son born to MaryKent at Bawnrard House,Castlelyons, near Fermoy,Co Cork. The Kent familywere substantial farmers and

Thomas was raised as an Irish speakerwho developed a deep affection for Irishmusic, dance, poetry and drama.At the age of 19, he emigrated to

Boston where he became active in severalIrish-American cultural organisations.He returned home in 1889 at a time ofsignificant land agitation. Frustrated bythe British government’s lack of progresson Irish land reform, several high-profilemembers of Charles Stewart Parnell’s IrishParliamentary Party launched the Plan ofCampaign – where Irish tenant farmerson landlord estates were encouragedto negotiate as a body to secure rentreductions. In 1890, Thomas was arrestedand sentenced to two months’ hard labourfor conspiring to encourage evasion ofrent. Local support for Kent’s activitieswas manifest in the huge crowds thatassembled in Fermoy to welcome him onhis release.With the political fall of Parnell and

the bitter split in the Irish Party thatfollowed, Kent becameincreasingly disillusionedwith the in-fighting whichcharacterised mainstreamIrish nationalist politics.He instead began todevote his energies to theIrish cultural nationalistmovement, joining theCastlelyons branch ofthe Gaelic League. Healso became an avidsupporter of ArthurGriffith’s emergingSinn Féin party. Variousstudies on the Rising haveshown how exposure tocultural nationalism was a

radicalising force, with many of the 1916generation experiencing a sort of naturalgraduation from cultural nationalism topolitical violence.Additionally, evidence suggests

that there was a strong link betweenfamily traditions of land agitation andsubsequent revolutionary activity.Agrarian unrest both reflected andcreated a tradition of resistance toauthority in much of rural Ireland whichmanifested itself again in enlistment inthe Irish Volunteers from 1913 onwards.Little wonder that Thomas, though now

in his late forties, experienced a renewalof the radicalism of his youth. In January

1914, Thomas and hisbrothers enlisted in theCork Brigade of Volunteerscommanded by Tomás MacCurtain. The Kent familythen helped organise alocal Volunteer companyin Castlelyons that trainedon their farm. It waspurported to be the firstteetotal unit of the forcein Ireland. When the IrishVolunteers split, Thomas,with the aid of TerenceMacSwiney, began toreorganise local companiesof the Irish Volunteers inCork who remained loyal

to Eoin MacNeill. In January 1916, theRoyal Irish Constabulary staged a raidon Kent’s family home and Thomas wassentenced to two months’ imprisonmentfor the illegal possession of arms foundthere.Aware of the Military Council’s plans

for rebellion, Kent and his brothers spentEaster Sunday in Cork city awaiting ordersfrom Pearse to mobilise. Once news ofMacNeill’s countermanding order reachedCork, they went into hiding still hopingthat MacSwiney would order the CorkVolunteers into action locally in the days

ahead. Once the rebellion in Dublinwas defeated, the British authoritiesordered the detention of all well-knownlocal sympathisers. On the night of May 1,the Kent brothers returned to theirfamily home but were observed by theRIC who encircled the house in the earlymorning with orders to arrest the entirefamily.The Kent brothers refused to be taken

and as the police laid siege they began afirefight which lasted several hours withtheir 85-year-old mother helping to reloadtheir guns. In the melee, Head Constable

SNAPSHOT

THOMASKENT

Born: Castlelyons, Co Cork;August 29, 1865

Educated: Castlelyons NS

Affiliation: Irish Volunteers

Career: Publishing, churchfurnishing, farmer

Died: Cork Barracks, May 9, 1916

THOMAS KENT

Agrarianagitator toforgottenvolunteer

“Various studies on theRising have shown howexposure to culturalnationalism was aradicalising force,

with many of the 1916generation experiencing asort of natural graduationfrom cultural nationalism

to political violence


PROFILE

Right: an Order ofService from ThomasKent’s 2015 funeral.GETTY IMAGES

Below: UCD’s RichardMcElligott.

WC Rowe had his head blown off whileThomas’s brother David was seriouslyinjured. With their ammunition runningout and military reinforcements nowon the scene, the Kents finally agreed tosurrender. Thomas’s brother Richard thentried to make a run for the nearby woodsbut was shot down and fatally wounded.He died the next day.There were reports that the RIC,

enraged over the death of Rowe, wanted toexecute Thomas and his brother Williamon the spot, but they were spared by theintervention of a British army officer.

Thomas and William were marched intoFermoy while a horse and cart carriedthe wounded David and Richard. On May4, Thomas and William were tried bycourt martial. William was acquitted butThomas was convicted of high treasonand sentenced to death. David was laterhanded the same sentence but it wascommuted to five years’ imprisonment.Both William and David would later beelected as TDs for Cork.On May 9, Thomas, clutching a pair of

rosary beads, was executed by firingsquad in Cork barracks. His body was

placed in an unmarked grave withinthe grounds. A century-long campaignto identify his remains and repatriatethem to the family plot in Castlelyonsculminated in Kent’s state funeral onSeptember 18, 2015.

Dr Richard McElligott lectures inModern Irish History in UCD. Heteaches the Uncovering 1916 andthe Irish War of Independencecourses which are currently beinghosted by the National Library of Ireland

T HOMAS Kent was executed onMay 9, 1916, and his body placedin an unmarked grave, filled

with quicklime, in the grounds of CorkPrison in Victoria Barracks. Almost99 years later, the remains of a bodywere exhumed and so began a scientificinvestigation to ensure that they wereindeed the remains of Thomas Kent.Head of the Garda Forensic Co-

ordination Office, John Byrne,approached genetics expert, DrJens Carlsson from the UniversityCollege Dublin School of Biology andEnvironmental Science, to see if aMitochondrial DNA test could be used.However, as such a test requires maternalrelatedness, and Thomas Kent had noliving relatives on the maternal side, thistechnique would not bear results.Instead, Dr Carlsson chose another

method, a micro-satellite technique,recommended by archaeologists whoattempt to retrieve DNA from bonesgoing back thousands of years. Theanalysis of the bone samples involved theState Pathologist’s Office, the NationalForensic Coordination Office at theGarda Technical Bureau, Forensic ScienceIreland and Dr Jens Carlsson’s teamworking in the Pinhasi ERC Ancient DNALaboratory at UCD.DNA from blood samples of two of

Thomas Kent’s nieces were sent toCarlsson to test against the bone samplesfrom the remains. Because of the noveltyof this case, the team ran statisticalsimulations to verify their results – andthe conclusion was overwhelming – thesewere indeed the remains of Thomas Kent.It is expected that this extraordinary

scientific case will help discover thetrue identities of victims of war crimesabandoned in mass graves.To hear the full story of how

Thomas Kent was identified, go to:http://bit.ly/1QDh6kt

Nieces’ DNAsolves mysteryof prison grave

The state funeral of Thomas Kent in Castlelyons, Co Cork, in September 2015. Below: soldiers fire a volley of shots at the funeral. GETTY IMAGES

Thomas Kent, main picture, and above on the left, withWilliamKent, beingmarched across the bridge in Fermoy, Co Cork, aftertheir capture in May 1916.


PROCLAMATION DAY – TUESDAY, MARCH 15

WHEN PatrickPearse stoodoutside theGPO shortlyafter noonon Easter

Monday 1916, a lone voice settingout a vision for a Republic, heprobably couldn’t be heard onthe far side of O’Connell Street(Sackville Street back then).Almost 100 years on, on March

15, his words will ring throughevery parish in the country,when the 1916 Proclamation isread out in 4,000 primary andpost-primary schools as wellas preschools and further andhigher education colleges.Far from the uncertainty,

division and impending violencethat marked that moment onApril 24, 1916, and the weeksand years that followed it,Proclamation Day 2016 will be acelebration of its powerful legacy.More than that, the day will be

an opportunity to encapsulatethe values and hopes of thenation for the next 100 years,in the Proclamation for a NewGeneration that all schools havebeen invited to draw up as part ofthe 1916 commemorations.Proclamation Day is one of

the highlights of the Ireland2016 programme, whenschools will showcase not onlytheir Proclamation for a NewGeneration but the various otherprojects relating to 1916 that theyhave worked on in recent months.Alongside the Proclamation for

a New Generation, students havebeen enthusiastically involvedin a variety of activities to markthe centenary, including the 1916Ancestry Project and drama,film, music and art initiatives.Another is the Schools’ Collection2016, a partnership betweenthe Department of Educationand Skills’ PDST Technologyin Education service, the IrishNational Teachers’ Organisation,the Irish Independent and UCDDecade of Centenaries, whereschools were invited to collectfamily or community history andrecord it digitally.There is feverish activity

and excitement in schools asthey prepare for March 15,when student displays and

performances will be shared andenjoyed not only by pupils andstaff but with families and thelocal community to whommanyschools are opening their doors.Preparations for Proclamation

Day in the education sectorkicked off last September whenmembers of the Defence Forces,started travelling around thecountry presenting a nationalflag to every school, buildingon the work of the Thomas FMeagher Foundation. It wasThomas Francis Meagher, anIrish patriot, who flew the firstIrish Tricolour on March 7, 1848,in Waterford city.The day will start in schools

with the raising of the Tricolour,as it was over the GPO on EasterMonday 1916, followed by areading of the 1916 Proclamationand then the unveiling of theschool’s own contributions tothe commemorations, includingthe Proclamation for a NewGeneration.The Proclamation project

grabbed the imagination ofpupils all around the countrywho have madetremendous efforts toarticulate the legacythat they want to createfor present and futuregenerations.In drafting a new

Proclamation, schoolswere asked to reflect thevalues and hopes of the2016 generation, startingwith an analysis of theideals, principles andaspirations of the 1916Proclamation.A century on, the

sentiments expressed inthe 1916 Proclamationstill resonate, promising,as it did, a Republic that“guarantees religiousand civil liberty, equalrights and equalopportunities to all itscitizens, and declaresits resolve to pursuethe happiness andprosperity of the wholenation and all of itsparts, cherishing allof the children of thenation equally”.Children and

teenagers in modern Ireland havedelivered a ringing endorsementof all of those ideals, but theschool proclamations also takeaccount of new challenges andput it up to policy makers and thepopulation to meet those.In recent weeks, teachesrs

have started uploading theirProclamations on to the Scoilnet.ie website for all to see. Scoilnetis a Department of Education andSkills online resource forschools, with content tailoredspecifically to the Irishcurriculum.In addition, as part of the

Ireland 2016 programme,young people have been invitedto record a video of theirProclamation and to showcaseit on the Ireland 2016 YouTubechannel.Scoilnet.ie will also be a digital

repository for other 1916-relatedinitiatives, including theancestry project and the Schools’Collection, providing aninvaluable record of the workdone in schools to commemorateevents of 100 years ago .

A day for usall tomake aproclamationA new generation is voicing its hopes and valuesfor the next 100 years, writesKatherineDonnelly

WHEN first yearpupils at HartstownCommunity School

started to analyse the 1916Proclamation, the first threewords stopped them in theirtracks: “IRISHMEN ANDIRISHWOMEN”.According to history teacher

Siobhán Daly, with familiesfrom 30 or more countriesrepresented among the 1,100pupils in the west Dublinschool, it prompted a debateand begged the question:. “Arewe all Irish?” with responsessuch as: “I am fromUkraine”, “Iam from The Philippines”,So began the thoughtful and

detailed process of writinga Proclamation for a NewGeneration, on behalf of theschool, with the class brokeninto groups and given thetask of rewriting a different

Pupils focus on multictheme in GPO speech re

Left: A copy of the originalProclamation of the IrishRepublic.

Above: the Irish flag fliesover Government Buildings.

Left: A copy of the originalProclamation of the IrishRepublic.

Above: the Irish flag fliesover Government Buildings.


PROCLAMATION DAY – TUESDAY, MARCH 15

T HE dangers of socialmedia is a strong themein the Proclamation for a

new Generation written by theboys of St Paul’s Primary School,Portlaoise.They devote one of the seven

paragraphs to it and, whilerecognising its value when usedresponsibly, they come downhard on those who resort tocyberbullying, something theywant stamped out. And theymake a vow: “We pledge to bestrong enough to say ‘enough isenough’ to bullies and to treateach other with kindness”.It was the 14-pupil student

council, drawn from 5th and 6thclass at the 420-pupil school,who were given the job of writingthe Proclamation for a NewGeneration.Teachers Christine Redmond

and Bríd Delaney had a fewmeetings with the councilto explain the project. Thepupils came up with key topicsthey wanted to cover such asacceptance, global warming andcrime and then broke up intoseven groups, to work on thedetail of the different paragraphs.Like so many other Irish

schools, its population is drawnfrom many ethnic and culturalbackgrounds, and the openingline of the Proclamation extends awelcome to “all that have chosenIreland as their new home”.It also speaks of their hopes

for continuing peace in Irelandand the protection of theenvironment, through recycling,less use of imported fossil fuelsand more sustainable agriculture.On March 15, members of

the council will read both the1916 Proclamation and theirown Proclamation for a NewGeneration. The day’s events atthe school will also include olderpupils talking to younger classesabout 1916 and the Tricolour.

HOMELESSNESS, the Irishdiaspora, refugees, globalwarming, and animal rights aresome of the issues uppermost inthe minds of the nation’s school-goers who sat down to considerpriorities for Ireland as it looksto its future.Among the first of schools’

Proclamation for a NewGeneration posted on theScoilnet.ie website, the threeEs of equality, education andenvironment, along withhomelessness, received the mostmentions.The new takes on a vision for

the country reflect Ireland’sjourney of the past 100 years,moving beyond the 1916imperative for independenceto its place now in a globalisedworld and its responsibilities forinternational issues, includingclimate change.While marking Ireland’s

progress over the century, theproclamations display a strongsense of the work that still needsto be done if the ideals espousedin 1916 are to be realised.“It is incredible that in this

modern era where opulenceis rampant among some,simultaneously poverty,homelessness and insecurityproliferate” wrote the pupils ofSt Theresa’s NS, Cashel,Co Galway.There is much gratitude

expressed to the men andwomen of 1916 and proud boastsabout the Irish culture andheritage but also a recognitionof the richness that immigrantsand multiculturalism bringto Ireland and inclusivity is arecurring theme.The girls of St Brigid’s

Convent, Glasnevin, Dublin,“welcome with open arms ourfriends from other countries,especially refugees who havehad to leave their own countriesin search of a better life, just aswe Irish people were welcomedby other countries when fleeingour homeland during theFamine”.At Scoil Mhuire, Leixlip,

Co Kildare, pupils “extend awelcome to those who hope tomake a new home in Ireland,who may be fleeing theirhomeland in search of a betterlife. We are aware that theseindividuals will contributeto Irish society with theireducation, skills and uniqueculture.”The Irish who have emigrated

are also held close to the heart,with a number of proclamationsexpressing the desire thatthey should have the option ofreturning home to a job, whilethe pupils of Gaelscoil ShliabhRua, Stepaside, Co Dublin, wantthe diaspora to have a vote.Safety, security and peace

crop up frequently, not least theneed to cherish older people,as expressed by pupils atLisnafunchin NS, Co Kilkenny:“We think that we must do moreto look after our elderly. Wewant them to be happy and feelsafe, valued and loved in ourcommunities. We must makesure that they never feel lonelyor alone.

paragraph of the originaldocument.The opening line led to

discussion about multi-culturalism, tolerance andacceptance, and then subtlechanges in wording fortheir own document to suchas “People of Ireland” and“We are distinctly Irish, yetmulticultural”.According to Ms Daly, they

“worked really hard on it andonly came to me to ask would Ihelp with ‘flowery’ language”.Other classes pursued

different 1916-related projects,all of which will be showcasedon Proclamation Day. Oneteacher has enlisted the helpof a professional actress for are-enactment of material foundin documents in the MilitaryArchives relating to the localarea.

us on multiculturaltheme in GPO speech rewrite

Pupils atSt Paul’s,Portlaoise,read their newProclamationJAMES FLYNN/APX

First-year pupils with their proclamation at Hartstown Community School, Dublin 15. MARK CONDREN

THE IRELAND WEWANT TO LIVE IN

Wewill standup to bullies,students vow

1Louis Bookman playedon the Ireland teamthat won the BritishChampionship for the

first time in 1914. Born LouisBuchalter in Lithuania, hisfamily moved to Ireland toescape anti-semitism. He cameto prominence with the DublinJewish club Adelaide, beforemoving to Belfast Celtic and onto Bradford City, the first of hisfour English clubs. Bookmanwon four caps either side of theFirst World War, and finished hiscareer with Shelbourne. He thenconcentrated on cricket: firstcapped in 1920, he played on theteam that beat the West Indies in1928 and won seven caps in all.He died in 1943, aged 52.

* * *

2 TommySmythwas bornin 1884 and is best rememberedas the first Irish rugby playerto captain the British and IrishLions. A prop, he played withMalone in Belfast, and turned outfor Newport when his medicalcareer took him to Wales. Hefirst played for Ireland in 1908,playing 14 games in all. Smythwas selected as captain of theLions that toured South Africa in1910, and played in two tests. Hisfinest hour came in 1911 whenhe was the only scorer in a 3-0win over England at LansdowneRoad. He died, aged 43, in 1928.

* * *

3 Born in 1883 in Prague,Franz Kafkawent on to studylaw at the University of Pragueand later worked in insurance.His best-selling short story TheMetamorphosis was published in1915, and he was forced to leavehis job in 1917 after contractinga bout of tuberculosis. He retiredfive years later. He moved toBerlin in 1923 to focus on hiswriting, and died in 1924. Despitebeing asking to destroy anyunpublished manuscripts, hisliterary executor, Max Brod, wenton to publish most of his workposthumously. His celebrity as awriter only came after his deathwith his most famous worksincluding The Trial (1925), TheCastle (1926) and Amerika (1927).

* * *

4 Born in 1897 in Kansas,Amelia Earhart first encounteredaviation tending to woundedreturning First World War pilots.Her desire to fly was spurred bya plane ride at a 1920 airshow.She took flying lessons and in1921 purchased ‘The Canary’.She set the world altitude recordfor female pilots, 14,000 feet, thefollowing year and by 1923 wasfondly known as ‘Lady Lindy’. In1932, she set off to become becamethe first woman to fly across theAtlantic but was forced to land in

Co Derry instead of Paris due tomechanical difficulties. In 1937,Earhart mysteriously disappearedover the Pacific Ocean during anattempt to circumnavigate theglobe.

* * *

5 KaiserWilhelm II served asemperor of Germany from 1888until the end of the First WorldWar. Born Friedrich WilhelmViktor Albert near Berlin in1859, his grandfather, WilhelmI, died in 1888, and his fatherFrederick III later that sameyear, propelling Wilhelm II tothe throne aged 29. He plannedto turn Germany into a majorpower and forced the resignationof Chancellor Otto von Bismarckin 1890 so he could take chargeof domestic and foreign policyhimself. However a series of ineptpolitical moves led to strainedrelations with Britain, Franceand Russia and eventually war.He abdicated in 1918 and later fledto Holland, where he died in 1941.

* * *

6 AlfredWegener, born in1880 in Berlin, studied physicaland Earth sciences at university,but it wasn’t until 1910 that hemade his most famous discovery.He noticed that the eastern coastof South America and northwestern coast of Africa looked

like they were once connected.He uncovered documents whichshowed identical fossils of plantsand animals found on eachcontinent, backing his claim thatat one time the continents wereall connected. Wegener presentedhis idea of continental driftin 1912. Most of the scientificcommunity ignored his ideas atthe time and he died in 1930 onan expedition to Greenland.

* * *

7 MaryHarris Joneswasbelieved to be born in 1837 inCork to Helen Cotter and RichardHarris. Victims of the Famine,they moved to America. She lostall her possessions in the greatChicago fire of 1871 and becameradicalised as a dressmaker in thestruggle for humane wages andworking conditions. She becameknown as Mother Jones and fromthe 1870s to the 1920s participatedin hundreds of strikes across theUS supporting workers in therailroad, steel, copper, brewing,textile, and mining industries.Her dynamic speaking skillsand radical organising methodshelped mobilise thousands oflabourers. She died in 1930.

* * *

8 Creator of the Ford ModelT car in 1908, Henry Fordwenton to develop the assembly line

mode of production, whichrevolutionised the industry. Asa result, Ford sold millions ofcars and became a world-famousindustrialist. By 1918 half of allcars in America were Model Tsand Ford became renowned forhis mass production methodsand keeping workers loyal withhigh wages. He died of a cerebralhaemorrhage in 1947, at the ageof 83. Ford’s father originallycame from Cork and hademigrated to America during theFamine. Subsequently the car-maker opened a factory in Corkin 1917, but it closed in 1984.

* * *

9 Katharine Tynanwasa nationalist writer who wasinvolved in the Irish LiteraryRevival and a member of theLadies Land League. Born inClondalkin, Dublin in 1861 shewas educated at the DominicanConvent. She went on to marrya Protestant barrister HenryAlbert Hinkson and lived withhim in England before moving toMayo. She became involved withthe Literary Revival and wrote apersonal account of Easter Week.Through her work she highlightedfeminist causes, the poor and theeffects of war. She wrote morethan 100 novels, 12 collections ofshort stories, plays and poetry,including Flower of Youth: PoemsinWartime (1915. She died in 1931.

NINELIVESGrainneCoyne on the writers,sportsmen and radicals of the era

LEARNMORE

READ...Q De Valera: A Will to Power, byRonan Fanning (Faber & Faber,2015)Q Thomas Kent, by Meda Ryan(O’Brien Press 16 Lives, 2016)Q A Nation and not a Rabble:The Irish Revolution 1913-23, byDiarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books,2015)Q Women of the Irish Revolutionby Liz Gillis (Mercier Press,2014)Q Easter Widows by Sinéad

McCoole (Doubleday Ireland,2014)Q With the Irish in Frongoch byWJ Brennan-Whitmore (TheTalbot Press, 1917; reprinted byMercier Press 2013)

CHECKOUT...Q If any of your relatives were“out” in 1916 with Lorcan Collins’exhaustive new book 1916:The Easter Rising Handbookwhich lists all the facts aboutthe Rising you might wish toknow, including names of allthe participants, those jailed,

killed, and given medals.(O’Brien Press, 2016)

LISTEN TO...Q Death of a LordMayor, 1960 RTÉradio documentary onTerence MacSwiney’s theexecution, http://bit.ly/1Kq0KsIQ The 1916 Room, RTÉ round-table from 2009 on the 1966anniversary; participantsinclude former Taoiseach GarretFitzGerald (inset), whose fatherwas in the GPO, http://bit.ly/1VnuVkN

Q Reluctant Surrender,In a 1972 RTÉdocumentary,Donncha Ó Dúlaingexplores events atBoland’s Mill, wherethe rebels were led

by Eamon de Valera.http://www.rte.ie/radio1/

doconone/2011/0712/646775-radio-documentary-reluctant-surrender/Q The Age of de Valera.Recorded at the MerrimanSummer school in 1973, this isa documentary discussion on

Éamon de Valera the politician,http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2011/0714/646794-radio-documentary-eamon-de-valera/

VISIT...Q Dublin city centre on March28, when there will be dozensof events including talks,walking tours, street art, dance,theatre and music to celebratethe centenary. Make sure tospend some time in the newlyrenovated GPO which reopensto the public on March 25.

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