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To Strike For Freedom: The 1916 Easter Rising and the United States

In the spring of 1916, while the world was entangled in the Great War, Irish nationalists launched one of the most significant uprisings against British rule in all of Irish history. For many centuries prior to 1916, the British had ruled Ireland and deprived the country’s people of their rights. Numerous rebellions, or risings, had all proved unsuccessful over the centuries; however, the multitude of failed nationalist risings did create a long history of Irish determination to gain independence from England. Consequently, once England was preoccupied with World War I, the Irish nationalists determined that the moment had come to fight once again for their freedom. The nationalists launched their rebellion on Monday, April 24, 1916, only one day after Easter. For six days, the Irish insurrectionists battled the government’s forces bravely, yet they were left with no other choice but to surrender to the British. Despite this apparent failing, the Easter Rising was successful in that it led to Irish independence six years later. These events were possible through not only the bravery of the Irish people, but also through the support of the Irish American community. The Irish Americans’ provision of financial, logistical, material, and moral support was critical to the execution of the Rising and, subsequently, Ireland’s independence.

Irish American support of the various movements to gain Ireland’s freedom began long before the Rising, as those Irish who left their homeland tried to help their country. In 1858, the Irish Republican (or Revolutionary) Brotherhood (IRB), an influential nationalist group committed to achieving Ireland’s independence, was first established in Dublin.[1] Soon, Irish Americans rushed to join the American branch of the IRB, the Fenian Brotherhood.[2]

Fenian_Brotherhood.jpg

The Fenians' Progress: A Vision (New York: John Bradburn, 1865), 42, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:120884.

Later in the twentieth century, the Clan-na-Gael emerged in the United States as an organization dedicated to financially helping the nationalist cause.[3] By the twentieth century, one of the Clan’s foremost leaders was the Irish immigrant Joseph McGarrity, who was influential in the Clan’s support of the Rising.[4] Over the years, the Clan’s main objective was “to establish in Ireland an Irish Republic,” and they also hoped for an Irish Congress that conducted its business in the Irish language, rather than English.[5]

McGarrity.jpg

Photograph, Joseph McGarrity, Standing With Chair, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl%3A171528.

The Clan-na-Gael’s efforts to reassert the Irish language indicated the general revival of Irish culture as one step toward national liberty in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the 1890s, the Gaelic League was established to encourage the use of the Irish language.[6] The League published its own journal, written almost completely in Gaelic, with Irish songs, vocabulary words, and other items of interest.[7] The Gaelic League was one of only several cultural revivals, including literature and theatre emphasizing Irish themes, history, and traditions. Politically, the founding of the Sinn Féin party by Arthur Griffith continued the efforts to establish an independent Ireland, not only with its own parliament, but also with an emphasis on national self-sufficiency in cultural and economic matters.[8] In 1912, however, Sinn Féin was overshadowed by the question of Home Rule, a proposal that would allow Ireland a measure of freedom by having a parliament independent from the English parliament.[9]

Only two short years later, World War I stalled the Home Rule movement and created rifts among the Irish people that made the nationalists more inflexible and determined to gain Ireland’s independence. Although the British government considered granting Ireland Home Rule, once World War I began in 1914, the matter was postponed until after the war.[10] As Ireland was still a part of the United Kingdom, the Irish were expected to serve with the British Army in the Great War. Many Irishmen did so in the hope that the English would grant Ireland Home Rule upon the war’s completion.[11]

Ulster.jpg

Samuels, Arthur Purefoy Irwin. With the Ulster Division in France: A Story of the 11th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (South Antrim Volunteers), From Bordon to Thiepval, in Four Parts, Including Photographs and Maps / By A.P.I.S. and D.G.S. Belfast: William Mullan & Son, 4 Donegall Place, 1918, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:132801.

Not all Irish, however, were willing to fight for the British, especially those who belonged to the militant nationalist group, the Irish (or National) Volunteers. The Volunteers, backed by funding from the United States, were first established in 1913 under the leadership of Eoin MacNeill.[12] Once World War I began, John Redmond, a leader of the Irish government, promised that the National Volunteers would defend Ireland in the war and possibly fight for Britain.[13] Angered, stalwart nationalists refused to serve with the National Volunteers under such conditions, and formed an independent, nationalist association called the Irish Volunteers.[14] Sir Roger Casement, a former employee of the British government, was one of the members of the Irish Volunteers who was especially determined that the Irish avoid war service in the British ranks.[15] Casement’s determination to avoid supporting England in any way went to the extreme of arguing in a pre-war pamphlet, “Ireland, Germany, and the Next War,” that a German victory would benefit the Irish more than an English victory.[16]

As World War I raged on, the Irish nationalists considered the Great War as the ideal moment to stage an uprising. For years, those committed to Ireland’s freedom had held to the principle, “England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity.” Finding that the Great War created an opportunity to capitalize on England’s preoccupation with Germany, the nationalists decided the time had at last come to fight for Irish freedom.[17] Sean T. O’Kelly, a member of the Irish Volunteers, remembered a formative meeting in 1914 called by Thomas Clarke, a former Fenian and Irish American.[18] O’Kelly’s lengthy account reveals associations and decisions that were involved in the Rising two years later. In the fall of 1914, O’Kelly recalled that the nationalists, most of whom would be involved in the Rising, decided:

First, that we must do everything possible to strengthen the Volunteers and the Citizen Army — the radical group headed by James Connolly — and to get new recruits for these groups as well as for the Fianna, the scout organization led by Countess Markievicz, and the women’s organization, the Cumann na mBan. Second, we must be prepared to resist any attempt by the British to enforce conscription in Ireland or to disarm the Volunteers. Third, if a German force were to land in Ireland and were to promise us help in gaining independence, we would offer them our cooperation. And finally we agreed that before the war’s end we should proclaim the independence of Ireland and make an armed insurrection: this would give us the right to claim a seat at the peace conference to be held after the war as belligerents.[19]

The groups mentioned by O’Kelly were all an important part of the Rising. Along with the Irish Volunteers was the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), a socialist group under the leadership of James Connolly and “even more committed than the Volunteers to revolutionary violence.”[20] It was not just the men that served the Irish nation in the Rising, but also women, girls, and boys. For women, the Irish Volunteers had a separate organization called the Cumann na mBan. Prior to the Rising, the Cumann na mBan helped the nationalists as they “learn[ed] to use fire arms, but they showed a lead to the men in many ways. They organized an efficient Red Cross service, collected funds, were active recruiters, and relieved the monotony of hard work by social affairs, dances, outings, et cetera. It is a fact that without their help the Volunteer movement would never have been the success that it was.”[21] Not all women were part of the Cumann, however; some joined the ICA and fought with them during the Rising. One prominent Irish nationalist woman associated with the ICA was Constance Markievicz, called the Countess.[22]

Countess.jpg

Photograph, Joseph McGarrity and Countess Markievicz. 1922, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:171516.

This photo clearly illustrates the connections between the Irish and the Irish Americans. Notice the American flag waving in the background as McGarrity and the Countess greet each other.

 

Several years before the Rising, the Countess formed Na Fianna Éireann as a boy scout organization, fully embracing Irish nationalism to the degree that the boys were required to promise they would not fight for the British.[23]

Fianna.jpg

Photograph, Na Fianna Éireann Congress, 1913. 1913. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:171616.

Not only did the above-mentioned groups provide support and manpower as nationalists planned the Rising, but also the Irish American community provided critical support. The Clan-na-Gael, under the leadership of Joseph McGarrity, assisted the Irish through funding, logistical arrangements, and material supplies. Ireland received as much as $100,000 from the Clan in the years leading to the Rising as Irish nationalists involved in planning the Rising traveled to America and met with McGarrity and increased the pressure on the Irish Americans for assistance.[24] In 1914, the pressure increased to the point that Eoin MacNeill wrote McGarrity asking for not only financial help, but also material help: “I … impress upon you and those acting in concert with you, and through you upon the supporters of the Irish cause in America, that ... the Irish Volunteers look to their friends in America not so much for pecuniary aid as for a supply of rifles, to be purchased and sent to us.”[25]

Arms_not_money.jpg

Eoin Mac Neill Arms, Not Money, Wanted From America, July 1, 1914. [S.I.: s.n.], 1914, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:138687.

The Clan answered the plea for munitions indirectly, but in a manner that showed how the Irish were willing to work with England’s enemies. It was eventually decided that the requested munitions would come from Germany, rather than America, but it was the Irish Americans who connected Irish nationalists with the Washington German embassy.[26] Sir Roger Casement, who had traveled to America in 1914, worked with the Germans on arranging a shipment of munitions for delivery to the Irish coast.[27] With the help of funding from the Clan-na-Gael, Casement traveled to Germany later in 1914 to establish an Irish Brigade comprised of the Irish war prisoners held in Germany.[28] Despite Casement’s best efforts, the Brigade was not successful.[29]

Irish_Brigade.jpg

[Unknown]. Postcard, With Image of Officers of "The Irish Brigade", [n.d.]., http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:135514.

Nevertheless, plans for the Rising continued and Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, was established as the beginning date for the insurrection.[30] The Germans promised to deliver twenty thousand rifles to the Irish coast on or a few days before Easter Sunday.[31] The steamer Aud would deliver the rifles, and Casement would travel to the landing point in a submarine.[32] Unfortunately for the nationalists, these careful plans all failed. Shortly after landing in Ireland, Casement was arrested, and although the Aud did arrive at the Irish coast disguised as a Norwegian ship, the British eventually intercepted the steamer.[33] Rather than let the British take possession of the rifles, the captain of the Aud blew up the ship.[34] Before the Rising could even begin, the failure to obtain badly needed munitions compromised the insurrection.

Casement.jpg

Photograph, Sir Roger Casement Portrait, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:171504.

Though the failure to obtain the German munitions surely discouraged the leaders of the Rising, they decided to proceed with their plans. Upon learning of Casement’s arrest and the sinking of the Aud, Eoin MacNeill, who was unaware of most plans for the Rising, issued a statement cancelling the Rising’s initiation on Easter Sunday.[35] Distressed that the Rising was yet again compromised, the other leaders decided the insurrection must go forward. They issued a statement confirming MacNeill’s cancellation, but followed it with another statement declaring that the Rising would begin on the next day, Easter Monday.[36]

Confused by so many conflicting orders, fewer men and women appeared on Monday, April 24, to participate in the Rising than the leaders had hoped.[37] According to the recollections of one Irishman who fought in the Rising, “the entire Dublin Garrison did not number more than 1,000 all told, and at many posts where fierce fighting took place there were not more than ten men at any time during the week.”[38] In retrospect, the Rising appears as a desperate action, given the significant British opposition. Indeed, one of the key leaders of the Rising, Patrick Pearse, believed that the Rising itself would not succeed in action, “but that its moral effect before the whole world would be immense, and that it would form a ‘glorious chapter in Irish history.’”[39] Part of the faith in the Rising’s success, either in actuality or in its moral implications, lay in the nationalists’ reliance on American help. The nationalists hoped that Washington, D.C. would recognize Ireland as its own nation once the Rising began, so the nationalists kept McGarrity and other Irish Americans informed as the initiation of the Rising approached.[40]

Despite having fewer participants than expected, the insurrectionists began to establish themselves in the city of Dublin. Around noon on April 24, the nationalists started occupying strategic points in Dublin, such as Jacob’s Factory, Liberty Hall, Boland’s Mill, the College of Surgeons, Four Courts, and St. Stephen’s Green.[41] Additionally, nationalist snipers cloistered themselves in corner houses from which they could fire upon the expected British resistance.[42] The Irish also took over the city’s transportation and communication systems by controlling the railways and occupying the General Post Office (GPO), which allowed them to cut off the telegraph system.[43]

GPO.jpg

“Ruins of the General Post Office,” p. 1, Murphy, T. W. Dublin after the Six Days' Insurrection: Thirty-one Pictures From the Camera of Mr. T. W. Murphy. Dublin: Mecredy, Percy and Co., Ltd., 1916, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:119133.

The GPO was the most important building the nationalists occupied, as they selected it to be the headquarters for the Rising.[44] Shortly after noon on Monday, two flags were hoisted above the GPO, one a green flag with the words “Irish Republic” emblazoned upon it in gold lettering, and the other a tricolor flag of green, white, and orange.[45]

Following the hoisting of the Irish flags, the Irish nation was officially proclaimed in a manner that revealed the nationalists’ familiarity with and reliance on American principles. The honor of proclaiming the Irish nation fell to Patrick Pearse, who authored the Proclamation and served as the President of the Provisional Government of Ireland.[46] Three to four hundred Irish citizens gathered around Pearse outside of the GPO and listened to the Proclamation’s account of Ireland’s history of revolt and the country’s right to nationhood.[47] In words echoing the early American colonists’ resolves against England, the Proclamation declared,

In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty; six times during the past three hundred years they have asserted it, in arms. Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.

The Irish Republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and Irishwoman. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue [secure] the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts…[48]

Though the claims of the Proclamation were ambitious, they reveal an Irish adherence to traditional American principles of freedom, liberty, independence, and equality. The devotion to equality was so great that not men, but young women participants of the Rising, were among the first to behold the Proclamation, according to James Connolly’s daughter, Nora.[49] Furthermore, just as the American signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives to their cause and their comrades, so did the seven Irish nationalists who signed Proclamation.[50] Aside from Pearse, the other six signers of the document were Thomas MacDonagh, Eamonn Ceannt, Sean MacDiarmada, Thomas Clarke, James Connolly, and Joseph Plunkett.[51] Of all the men, Thomas Clarke signed the document first, potentially due to respect for his age, his connections with the Fenians, and his status as an Irish American.[52]

Proclamation.jpg

Pamphlet, "Ireland's Declaration of Independence Patrick H. Pearse The Martyred President of the Irish Republic," [1916], http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:170557.

As Easter Week continued and the British government forces moved into the city, the Irish fight for freedom became increasingly desperate. By Tuesday, the Irish citizens of Dublin and the British forces finally realized that something out of the ordinary was happening.[53] The British were at somewhat of a disadvantage at the beginning of the Rising, since they knew very little of the Irish nationalists’ plans, save for the intercepted shipment of German munitions.[54] By Tuesday, however, the government realized that the nationalists were staging an insurrection, leading the British to establish martial law and bring in twenty thousand troops to fight against the Irish nationalists.[55] The next day, the British increased their forces substantially and enlisted the aid of their gunboat, the Helga, to fire on the nationalists’ positions throughout the city.[56] The British also subjected the insurrectionists to heavy artillery fire on Wednesday, as well as sniper fire throughout the city.[57] On Thursday, the Irish position became more precarious, as more British reinforcements arrived and congregated around the GPO.[58] The British cut communications between the Irish on Thursday, and by evening, the street across from the GPO was engulfed in flames.[59]

Ruins.jpg

“Eden’s Quay, Hopkin’s Corner,” p. 19, Murphy, T. W. Dublin after the Six Days' Insurrection: Thirty-One Pictures From the Camera of Mr. T. W. Murphy. Dublin: Mecredy, Percy and Co., Ltd., 1916, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:119133.

Near the end of the week, the Irish recognized that the Rising was failing to achieve a true Irish Republic, yet they clung to the belief that their actions would provide a moral victory and strengthen the nationalist cause. On Thursday evening, the participants realized that they were enclosed in the city.[60] The next evening, as the flames spread throughout the city, the GPO finally caught on fire.[61] At last, on Saturday, April 29, Pearse issued a surrender statement in order to protect the civilian population of Dublin.[62]

Soon after the Rising came to a close, the government enforced restrictions on the people of Dublin and punished those who participated in the Rising. After the insurrectionists surrendered, the British kept all of Ireland under martial law, demanded that the Irish surrender their weapons, and banned political meetings.[63] The British also sentenced to death all seven signers of the Proclamation, as well as Casement.[64]

Rebels.jpg

“Rounding up the Rebels,” p. 27, Murphy, T. W. Dublin after the Six Days' Insurrection: Thirty-One Pictures From the Camera of Mr. T. W. Murphy. Dublin: Mecredy, Percy and Co., Ltd., 1916, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:119133.

As news spread to America of the consequences of the Rising, the Irish Americans tried to help the nationalists and lessen the distress of the people of Ireland. Thanks to the efforts of the United States government, a few of the Irish nationalists were spared from harsh sentences.[65] One of these men was Eamonn de Valera, who later played a significant role in Ireland’s War of Independence and served as the President of Ireland.[66] Diarmuid Lynch’s sentence was also lessened after Theodore Roosevelt and the U.S. Consulate intervened on his behalf.[67] Additionally, Theodore Roosevelt attempted to reduce the sentence of Sir Roger Casement, but Roosevelt’s efforts were unsuccessful.[68] As news arrived of the executions, Irish Americans, particularly Joseph McGarrity, expressed great sympathy with and support for the Irish nationalists. McGarrity proclaimed to fellow Irish Philadelphians the injustice of the British executions of the nationalists. He asked the Americans “for sympathy and fair play” with Ireland by not allowing the American government to support England against Ireland.[69]

Likewise, a group of Irish Americans in New York met several weeks after the Rising to express their support, calling “on all Irishmen in the United States to join the friends of Irish freedom as the only practical means of expressing their sympathy and support for the struggle for freedom in the old land.”[70]

Although the executions of the Irish nationalists were tragic for both the Irish people and Irish Americans, they were significant in that they helped achieve the moral victory in which Pearse believed so firmly. As the British announced the numerous executions, Irish public opinion on the Rising, which had previously been mostly unfavorable, shifted in favor of the nationalists.[71] With support of Irish nationalism growing, the years following the Rising witnessed political developments that eventually led to Ireland’s independence. In 1918, a truly Irish government was created, and from 1919 to 1921, a War of Independence raged in Ireland.[72] During these years, an American Commission was established to relieve the suffering in Ireland.[73] Additionally, Eamonn de Valera wrote to America twice, once to the Irish Americans in Philadelphia, and once to the President of the United States, asking for recognition of Ireland as a sovereign state.[74]

De_Valera.jpg

De Valera, Eamonn. “Letter, To: [Philadelphia], From: Eamon De Valera, March 9, 1920.” 1920. http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:137464.

Finally, in 1922, the English and Irish approved a treaty granting the lower counties of Ireland independence from Great Britain.[75] Although conflict in Ireland would continue for many years, the support of the Irish Americans was a significant factor in the establishment of the Irish Republic.

The Easter Rising was a critical moment in Irish history, as it eventually led to Ireland’s independence, partly as a result of the financial, material, and moral support of the Irish Americans. Prior to the beginning of the Rising, the Irish Americans played a critical role in supporting Ireland’s cause by sending significant amounts of money to the Irish, but also by connecting them with the Germans for material support. After the Rising strengthened public support for Irish independence, the Irish Americans continued to support the movements and actions leading to the creation of the Irish Republic. Thus, this encouragement from the Irish Americans before, during, and after the Rising critically contributed to the moral victory of the Rising and the eventual creation of the Irish Republic.

[ALF]

[1] W. S. Neidhardt, Fenianism in North America (University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1975), 4.

[2] The Fenians' Progress: A Vision (New York: John Bradburn, 1865), 42, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:120884; Neidhardt, Fenianism in North America, 7.

[3] R. V. Comerford, The Fenians in Context: Irish Politics and Society, 1848-82 (Dublin: Wolfhouse Press, Humanities Press, Inc., 1985), 205-206; “Declaration of Principles,” The Clan-Na-Gael Journal Vol. 33 (Philadelphia, PA: Clan-na-Gael, 1910), February 18, 1910, 1, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:281244.

[4] Brian J McDonald, “Fenian Days,” Joseph McGarrity: Man of Action, Man of Letters, https://ww1online.org/joseph-mcgarrity-man-of-action-man-of-letters/fenian-days/.

[5] “Declaration of Principles,” The Clan-Na-Gael Journal Vol. 33, February 18, 1910, 1.

[6] T. W. Moody, F. X. Martin, and Dermot Keogh, ed., with Patrick Kiely, The Course of Irish History, 5th ed. (Lanham, MD: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 2012), 259.

[7] Gaelic League, The Gaelic Journal: Exclusively Devoted to the Preservation and Cultivation of the Irish Language (Dublin: Gaelic Union, aftw. Gaelic League, 1882). The journals of the Gaelic League have not yet been digitized, but they are held in Falvey Library’s Special Collections, Villanova University.

[8] Padraic Colum, “Sinn Fein and Irish Ireland,” in Padraic Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs: Erin’s Tragic Easter (New York: The Devin-Adair Company, 1916), 41-43.

[9] John F. Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916: A Brief History of the Revolt and Its Suppression (London: Constable and Company Limited, 1916), 22; Colum, “Catholic Emancipation and Agrarian Reform,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 28-29.

[10] Fearghal Mcgarry, The Rising: Ireland: Easter 1916 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 79.

[11] F. X. Martin, ed., Leaders and Men of the Easter Rising: Dublin 1916 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1967), 179.

[12] Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 34; Ruan O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising (New York: Friends of Sinn Fein, Inc., 2015), 9.

[13] Charles Townshend, Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion (Lanham, MD: Ivan R. Dee, 2006), 62-63, 413.

[14] Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 39-40; Warre B. Wells and N. Marlowe, A History of the Irish Rebellion of 1916 (Dublin and London: Maunsel and Company, Limited, 1916), 49-50.

[15] Martin, ed, Leaders and Men of the Easter Rising, 177-178.

[16] Wells and Marlowe, A History of the Irish Rebellion of 1916, 17.

[17] Sean T. O’Kelly, “…We Ourselves…” in Goddard Lieberson, produced by, The Irish Uprising: 1916-1922 (NY: The MacMillan Company, 1966), 93.

[18] O’Kelly, “…We Ourselves…” in Lieberson, The Irish Uprising, 93; Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 194; O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 3.

[19] O’Kelly, “…We Ourselves…” in Lieberson, The Irish Uprising: 1916-1922, 93, 98.

[20] McGarry, The Rising, 63, 94.

[21] Robert Monteith, Casement’s Last Adventure (S. I.: Atwill Printing & Binding Corporation, 1932), 40.

[22] 1916 Rebellion Handbook (Dublin: Mourne River Press, 1998), 277-278.

[23] Sidney Gifford, “Countess de Markievicz,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 347-350.

[24] O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 7, 35-38.

[25] Eoin Mac Neill Arms, Not Money, Wanted From America, July 1, 1914. [S.I.: s.n.], 1914, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:138687.

[26] Karl Spindler, The Mystery of the Casement Ship: With Authentic Documents (Berlin: Kribe-Verlag, 1931), 234.

[27] O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 14-15.

[28] William J. Maloney, The Forged Casement Diaries (Dublin and Cork: The Talbot Press Limited, 1936), 109; Wells and Marlowe, A History of the Irish Rebellion of 1916, 111-114.

[29] Wells and Marlowe, A History of the Irish Rebellion of 1916, 113-114.

[30] Brian Ó Huiginn, The Soldier’s Story of Easter Week ([Dublin]: Brian O’Higgins, “Stormanstown,” Glasnevin, Dublin, 1925), 16-17.

[31] Martin, ed, Leaders and Men of the Easter Rising, 182.

[32] Martin, ed, Leaders and Men of the Easter Rising, 182, 184.

[33] Charles A Collum, “Who Betrayed the Irish People?” The Fatherland 4, no. 14 (New York: International Monthly Inc.), May 10, 1916, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:147422. It is interesting to note that the British learned of the German shipment of arms from American, pro-British sources. Thus, even though many Irish Americans supported the Rising in substantial ways, other Americans effectively undermined the Rising.

[34] Martin, ed, Leaders and Men of the Easter Rising, 184-185.

[35] Townshend, Easter 1916, 136; “Report of the Royal Commission,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 201.

[36] Townshend, Easter 1916, 138-139.

[37] Townshend, Easter 1916, 138-139.

[38] Brian O’Higgins, The Soldier’s Story of Easter Week: Poems of 1916; Prison Letters, 1917-20, of Brian O’Higgins (Hitherto Unpublished); with Sketches of the Leaders by Liam C. Martin (Dublin: Brian O’Higgins, 1966), 78-79.

[39] Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 190.

[40] O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 42, 44.

[41] Maurice Joy, “General Narrative of the Rebellion,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 89-95.

[42] Joy, “General Narrative of the Rebellion,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 89-95.

[43] Joy, “General Narrative of the Rebellion,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 89-95; 1916 Rebellion Handbook, 4.

[44] 1916 Rebellion Handbook, 4; McGarry, The Rising, 133.

[45] McGarry, The Rising, 133.

[46] Mark McCarthy, Ireland’s 1916 Rising: Explorations of History-Making, Commemoration & Heritage in Modern Times (Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2012), 54; Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 55.

[47] O’Kelly, “…We Ourselves…” in Lieberson, The Irish Uprising, 109; McCarthy, Ireland’s 1916 Rising, 54.

[48] Pamphlet, "Ireland's Declaration of Independence Patrick H. Pearse The Martyred President of the Irish Republic," [1916], http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:170557.

[49] Nora Connolly, The Unbroken Tradition (New York: Boni and Liveright, 1918), 101.

[50] The National Archives and Records Administration, “The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,” The Charters of Freedom: A New World is At Hand, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html.

[51] McCarthy, Ireland’s 1916 Rising, 54.

[52] Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 194.

[53] Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 30.

[54] James Reidy, “The Irish Republican Brotherhood,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 264-265.

[55] Joy, “General Narrative of the Rebellion,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 94-97.

[56] Boyle, The Irish Rebellion of 1916, 72; Joy, “General Narrative of the Rebellion,” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 101.

[57] Louis G. Redmond-Howard, Six Days of the Irish Republic: A Narrative and Critical Account of the Latest Phase of Irish Politics (Boston: John W. Luce & Company, 1916), 30, 33-34.

[58] Redmond-Howard, Six Days of the Irish Republic, 36.

[59] Ó Huiginn, The Soldier’s Story of Easter Week, 45-46.

[60] Redmond-Howard, Six Days of the Irish Republic, 36.

[61] Joy, “The Dublin ‘Forts,’” in Colum, et al, The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and its Martyrs, 121-122.

[62] “Collapse of the Rebellion; Unconditional Surrender,” in 1916 Rebellion Handbook (Dublin: The Mourne River Press, 1998), 7.

[63] The Irish Times, Sinn Fein Rebellion Handbook, Easter 1916: A Complete and Connected Narrative of the Rising, with Detailed Accounts of the Fighting at all Points in Dublin and in the Country (Dublin: The Irish Times, 1916), 34-40.

[64] 1916 Rebellion Handbook, 60, 271.

[65] O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 46.

[66] William J. A. Maloney, The Recognized Irish Republic (New York: The Statesman Press, 1920), 6.

[67] O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 46.

[68] O’Donnell, America and the 1916 Rising, 46.

[69] Joseph McGarrity, Typescript, Philadelphia Draft Speech By Joseph McGarrity, 1916, 1916, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl%3A336658.

[70] “America Sends Sympathy to Freedom-Loving Ireland: Great Mass Meeting in New York City Endorses Irish Revolution,” in George Sylvester Viereck, The Fatherland 4 no. 14 (New York: International Monthly Inc.), May 10, 1916, 217, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:147422.

[71] Wells and Marlowe, A History of the Irish Rebellion of 1916, 203-204; BBC, “Aftermath: The Executions,” Easter 1916: From Home Rule to Independence, September 24, 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/easterrising/aftermath/af01.shtml.

[72] American Commission on Conditions in Ireland, The American Commission On Conditions in Ireland: Interim Report. (Washington, D.C.[?]: The Commission, 1921), 8.

[73] American Committee for Relief in Ireland, Report of American Committee for Relief in Ireland (New York: Treasurer’s and Secretary’s Office, n. d.), 48.

[74] Eamonn De Valera, “Letter, To: [Philadelphia], From: Eamon De Valera, March 9, 1920,” 1920, http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:137464; De Valera, Ireland's Request to the Government of the United States for Recognition As a Sovereign Independent State (Washington, D.C.: Irish Diplomatic Mission, 1920), http://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:119295.

[75] Moody, The Course of Irish History, 442-443.

 

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Last Modified: 2023-08-03 16:21:31