The Easter Rising

April 24, 1916Meghan Delaney

Roots of the Rising

• Ireland has a history of unrest• All failed rebellions– 1798– 1803– 1848– 1867

• Uprising of 1916 was partly a continuation of these struggles

Roots of the Rising

• Futile push for Home Rule– Home Rule Act of 1914

Roots of the Rising

• Influence of the Gaelic Revival – Irish society/culture was at is peak before the

English arrived – To return to that state, Ireland needs to be

independent

Roots of the Rising• Influence of Gaelic Revival– Admiration of ancient

heroes Finn Cuchulainn

– “I care not though I were to live but one day and one night, if only my fame and my deeds live after me”

Leaders• Padraic Pearse– Main conspirator– Symbol of the Easter

Rising– Preferred a “short life

with honor [to a] long life with dishonor.”

Leaders• James Connolly– Formed the Irish

Citizen Army

The Uprising Itself

• April 24, 1916 – Easter Monday• Pearse and supporters took over the General

Post Office– Declared themselves a provisional government– Read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic

The Uprising Itself

• The Proclamation of the Irish Republic– “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to

the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people.”

The Uprising Itself

• Lasted only six days– Rebels were outnumbered– Civilians were not fully committed to rebellion– Wrongly predicted British reaction

The Uprising Itself

• Not considered a failure by all– “We succeeded in proving that Irishmen are ready

to die endeavoring to win for Ireland those national rights....As long as that remains the case, the cause of Irish freedom is safe.”

- James Connolly

Irish Response

• After the uprising, 15 of the leaders were executed

• Gained the rebels sympathy and support from the people

Irish Response

• Reflected in W.B Yeat’s poem “Easter, 1916”– “I write it out in a verse -

MacDonagh and MacBrideAnd Connolly and PearseNow and in time to be,Wherever green is worn,Are changed, changed utterly:A terrible beauty is born. “

Irish Response

• Citizens now approved of the use of violence• Paved the way for the Irish Republican Army

Works Cited

• Edwards, O. Dudley, and Fergus Pyle, eds. 1916: The Easter Rising. London: MacGibbon and Kee Ltd., 1968.

• "Irish Proclamation of Independence." IOL. Web. 22 Oct. 2009. <http://www.iol.ie/~dluby/proclaim.htm>.

• Konnikova, Maria "Emerald Trials." Harvard International Review 24.2 (2002): 36. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Oct. 2009.

• Litton, Helen. Irish Rebellions: 1798-1916, An Illustrated History. Dublin: Wolfhound Ltd., 1998.

Anglo-Irish War (1919-1921)

Jonathan Dunn

The Sinn Féin

• Political party - Republic• Won majority in 1918• Refused to attend Westminster• Set up the Dáil Éireann (Irish Assembly)• Eamon de Valera was President• Believed to be responsible for the Easter

Rising.• They created a constitution

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

• Groups of young volunteers• Closely associated with the Sinn Féin• Michael Collins high positions in each.• Used guerrilla tactics

IRA Tactics

• Guerilla warfare• Main target was the Royal Irish Constabulary

(RIC).• Gain weapons• Disrupt the RIC’s operations.

British Tactics

• Britain regarded IRA actions as terrorism• The RIC mainly responsible for suppressing

IRA.• Black and Tans later brought in to stop IRA.

Michael Collins (1890-1922)• Born in County Cork, fought in

Easter Rising.• One of 73 Sinn Féin elected in

1918. Served minister of finance.

• Director of intelligence for IRA.• Planned & organized IRA

attacks against British.• He used informants and spies

within RIC to get information on important people.

• Shot to death during Irish Civil War in Cork.

Bloody Sunday

• Collins planned assassination of 19 RIC intelligence officers on November 21st, 1920.

• British quickly responded by sending police into a football match and firing on the spectators. 12 civilians were killed.

The Black and Tans

• British police force failing in suppressing IRA.• Men aggressively recruited in England, mostly

ex-military, specifically to end IRA violence.• Eventually there were around 10,000 in Black

and Tans.• Known for viciousness and lack of discipline.

Sources

• The Anglo-Irish War. (2009). Retrieved October 22, 2009, from BBC - History: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/easterrising/aftermath/af04.shtml>.

• Michael Collins. (2009). Retrieved October 22, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/125817/Michael-Collins>.

Artistic Interpretation

Carla Schmidt

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

• Released 2006• Written by Paul Laverty• Directed by Ken Loach

• “A sympathetic look atRepublicans in early20th century Ireland”- IMDB description

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

• Damien O’Donovan

• Teddy O’Donovan

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

• Irish presented positively• Hospitality

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

• Intelligent• Compassionate• Unwilling to kill

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

• English presented very negative• Loud• Barbaric• Destructive

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

• “Every time a colony wants independence, the questions on the agenda are: a) how do you get the imperialists out, and b) what kind of society do you build? There are usually the bourgeois nationalists who say, 'Let's just change the flag and keep everything as it was.' Then there are the revolutionaries who say, 'Let's change the property laws.' It's always a critical moment.” – Ken Loach, Director

• Most critical responses were positive

Michael Collins

• Released 1996• Written & directed by Neil Jordan

Michael Collins

• Urban Guerilla• Gentlemen, organized• Similarities– Dividing brothers

• Differences– Empathy on both sides

Michael Collins

• Michael Collins• Eamon de Valera

• Incredibly popular film

Works CitedMassey, Beth. "PSLweb: The Wind that Shakes the Barley' examines Ireland's national

and class struggle ." PSLweb. 13 Apr 2007. Party for Socialism and Liberation, Web. 22 Oct 2009. <http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6647& news_iv_ctrl=1861>.

Merivirta-Chakrabarti, Raita. “Between Irish National Cinema and Hollywood: Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins”. CAIN Web Service. 2007. Access Research Knowledge, Web. 22 Oct 2009. <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/estudiosirlandeses/merivirta07.pdf>.

Michael Collins. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perfs. Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Rickman. Geffen Pictures, 1996.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Dir. Ken Loach. Writ. Paul Laverty. Perfs. Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney. Matador Pictures, 2006.