At noon on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, approximately 1000 men and women stormed buildings in central Dublin and rose against the British government. The area of Dublin between the Canals was taken by an amalgamation of the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), Cumann na mBan, and the Fianna. Padraic Pearse was appointed Commandant-General and James Connolly was appointed Commandant-General of the Dublin Division. By the end of the week, about 2100 men and women were in the garrisons. Though some women carried weapons, most of the Cumann na mBan women saw their roles confined to nursing, cooking and dispatch carrying. Not only were they the primary dispatch runners, they also passed through the British lines to get food supplies and ammunition, often hiding these in their clothes. These were all dangerous missions, and the women often held up vans, commandeering their contents at gun-point. Most of the women who wrote accounts of their activities eliminated any trace of heroism when relating their experiences. Few of the accounts give any indication of the excitement and colour of the week. They wrote that there was little drama attached to their duties, and so they just ‘got on with it’.
This book lists those who made up the garrisons, and gives a short biography of them. For all of the men and women listed here, they were not living history, they were living their lives. We should remember each of them who made their lives a little less ordinary by participating in the extraordinary events that took place.
Joe E. A. Connell Jnr is the author of Dublin Rising 1916, published earlier this year by Wordwell. He writes a regular column in History Ireland: Countdown to the Rising and is a regular contributor to Newstalk’s Talking History programme.
Details | |
Author | Joseph E. A. Connell Jnr |
Publication Data | 21 October 2015 |
Subjects | 1916, revolution, Irish history |
Who’s Who in the Dublin Rising 1916
- ISBN: 978 1 905569 94 6
- Author(s): Joseph E. A. Connell Jnr
- Availability: In Stock
-
€19.00
Related Products
Dublin Rising 1916
Whenever we walk down O’Connell Street or any of Dublin’s streets it’s tempting to wonder just what ..
€19.00
1916: Dream & death: A commemorative annual on the impact of the Dublin Rising
Over the next few years History Ireland intends to produce a series of authoritative annual publicat..
€12.00
1916–18: Changed Utterly Ireland after the Rising
W.B. Yeats famously remarked that Ireland after the Easter Rising was ‘changed utterly’. Few would d..
€12.00
Michael Collins: Dublin 1916–22
MICHAEL COLLINS: DUBLIN 1916–22 Joseph E.A. Connell JnrThe story of Michael Collins in Dublin is the..
€19.00
A GLOBAL HISTORY The Irish revolution 1919 -21:
Tommy Graham and Brian Hanley (editors)The thi..
€12.00
The Shadow War
The Shadow War Michael Collins and the Politics of Violence.Insurgencies are as psychological..
€18.99
The History Ireland Revolutionary Collection
Special Offer.The History Ireland Revolutionary CollectionWolfe Tone 225—a special supplement from H..
€25.95 €65.00
The Terror War
THE UNCOMFORTABLE REALITIES OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. During the Irish War of Independence the ..
€20.00
Wolfe Tone 225
—a special supplement from History Ireland. Over the course of three days, beginning in Clifto..
€15.00
THE KERRY COLLECTION
TWO GREAT BOOKS ONE GREAT PRICE!Mapping SOUTH KERRYSouth Kerry was always a place with its own disti..
€70.00
THE ANGLO-IRISH COLLECTION
THE TERROR WARMIDNIGHT IN LONDONA BITTER WINTERTHE TERROR WARTHE UNCOMFORTABLE REALITIES OF THE..
€40.00