1916 Easter Uprising Anniversary: History Of Irish Men And Women Who Sparked Independence

For the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Uprising, hundreds of thousands of Irish men and women gathered to watch a commemorative parade dedicated to the landmark event in their history, reported USA Today.

In Ireland, one of the most Catholic countries on earth, the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s resurrection shares center stage with a revolutionary event. This year, it would be difficult to say the Easter Uprising hadn’t upstaged the other.

Due to its significance, that should be no surprise. Most consider the Easter Uprising to be the inciting event that led to the country’s eventual independence in 1922. More than 1,200 rebels sieged various buildings across Dublin to demand separation from the United Kingdom. The ensuing battle left 450 dead and more than 2,000 injured, reported The Irish Story.

Although it took place all across Ireland, the Easter Uprising was largely concentrated in the capital city of Dublin. After secretly plotting for several months, six men at the center of Ireland’s independence movement shared their plan with the rest of the group. Mostly members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), their names were Tom Clarke, Sean McDermott, Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett, James Connolly, and Eamon Ceannt.

The plan wasn’t well-received by everyone else in the movement. Originally planned for Easter Sunday, the insurrection didn’t take off until the following morning because of opposition within the other key organizations and the IRB itself. The architects of the 1916 Easter Uprising kept their plans so well-shrouded that higher-ups didn’t even know about a failed plot to buy arms from the Germans on the preceding Good Friday.

That may have partially been because the participants of the Easter Uprising came from several different organizations. Nationalist militia the Irish volunteers, social trade union group the Irish Citizen Army, and the all-female Cumman na mBan all ended up collaborating on the final maneuver. As a result of the women’s group’s inclusion, historians believe that there was a woman present at each of the main bases taken over in 1916 Dublin.

Proclaiming an Irish Republic, more than a thousand Irish rebels took over the General Post Office (GPO), the Four Courts, the South Dublin Union, Boland’s Mill, Stephen’s Green, and Jacobs’ biscuit factory in Dublin. The British military launched a counter-attack with more than 16,000 troops and a naval gunboat — arms impossible for the Easter Uprising to combat.

By April 30, the Easter Uprising had been successfully terminated by English forces, and 16 of the leaders were executed. The harsh response, writes The Telegraph, was partially responsible for a spike in public support.

“At first the rebels’ actions were not met with much support from the Irish, but the executed leaders were later heralded as martyrs as public opinion shifted. The harsh mass arrests and martial law, which stayed in place through the Autumn, fuelled the public’s resentment of the British, growing support for the rebels and Irish independence.”

Though the Irish are paying due homage to the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Uprising, the country’s actual Independence Day came three years later. As a revolutionary act, Irish members of British Parliament convened their own Congress in Dublin. Tensions continued to grow until it erupted in a war between the two countries. That officially ended with a 1921 Treaty which made Ireland a free state.

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