Irish History, Culture, Heritage, Language, Mythology
The first of the 1916 rebels were shot dead in the Stonebreakers’ Yard at Kilmainham Gaol after being found guilty (without legal defence or jury) of taking part ‘in an armed rebellion for the purposes of assisting the enemy.’ The fact that they were involved in armed rebellion is beyond doubt, but the primary purpose […]
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While many clerics have supported the armed struggle of the IRA since 1916, the Capuchin Friars have been particularly noted for their republicanism. One such Capuchin was Fr Aloysius Roche, the son of an Irish father and English mother, born in Scotland in 1886. He studied for the priesthood and, following his ordination, he was […]
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One explanation of the origin of the name Harold’s Cross is that it is derived from the name given to a gallows, which had been placed where the current Harold’s Cross Park is situated. Harold’s Cross was an execution ground for the city of Dublin during the 18th century and earlier. In the 14th century […]
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The National Museum holds many of the last letters written by the men executed in Kilmainham Gaol in May 1916 for their part in the Rising. The collection includes Pádraig Pearse’s letter to his mother, and letters from Con Colbert, Michael Mallin, Eamonn Ceannt and others, written to family and friends. All these letters have […]
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After six days that reduced much of central Dublin to ruin, British forces numbering close to 20,000 troops (many of them Irish) finally force a rebel force of 1,500 men and women to surrender. At 12.45pm, Elizabeth O’Farrell (one of the last three women left in the GPO before it was evacuated), left 15 Moore […]
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1653 – Birth of shoemaker and astrologer, John Whally, in London. 1665 – Birth of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde and an ancestor of Princess Diana. The Dublin-born Irish general became one of the most powerful men in the Tory administration, governing England in the early part of the 18th century – from 1710 […]
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‘I desire now, lest I may not have an opportunity later, to pay homage to the gallantry of the soldiers of Irish Freedom who have during the past four days been writing with fire and steel the most glorious chapter in the later history of Ireland. Justice can never be done to their heroism, to […]
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In the early morning hours, General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell finally arrived in Dublin as commander-in-chief of the forces in Ireland. He issued a proclamation: “The most vigorous measures will be taken by me to stop the loss of life and damage to property which certain misguided persons are causing in their armed resistance to […]
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Eamon Bulfin was an Argentine-born Irish republican. A former pupil at Pádraig Pearse’s school St Enda’s (Sgoil Éanna), in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Bulfin was a member of the Irish Volunteers and the IRB and along with some fellow St Enda’s students created home-made bombs in the school’s basement in preparation for the Easter Rising. He was […]
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One day after the Proclamation of the Irish Republic is read by Pádraig Pearse on Easter Monday and a day of limited activity, British authorities start to take action. By the end of the day, 7,000 troops will be moved into Dublin from Belfast and the Curragh. Those British forces stationed in Ireland that were […]
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