Where can I find out more about The 1916 rising?

Question

Where can I research the 1916 rising? Also is there anyone you can pay to research/check newspapers from that day?

My g.g grandfather stores "lawrence's great baazar" were destroyed during the rising and id like to learn more about it.

"At 4.10pm, Eamon Bulfin on the roof of the GPO, watched as children looted a photography and toy shop, Lawrence's, and came out with a large quantity of fireworks. They "made a huge pile of them in the middle of O'Connell Street, and set fire to them. That is one thing that will stick in my mind forever. We had our bombs on top of the Post Office, and these fireworks were shooting up in the sky. We were very nervous. There were Catherine wheels going up O'Connell Street and Catherine wheels coming down O'Connell Street." The looters then set Lawrence's on fire."

Answer 1

I'll keep looking, but your quest seems more like a genealogical  history research. As you will see in the photo link below, it was on Sackville  St, and was a photo gallery

and toy shop. It was said that many boys and girls used to meet there as well as adults.  (Your Great Grandfathers store is the one the children looted for fireworks.  O'Conner Street was just around the bend, and now that part of Sackville St. is called O'Connor Street.)

This woman is researching the same man:

I am looking for information on William Lawrence, born in Ireland in 1840 (died 1932). At the age of 24, in 1865, he opened a store in Dublin called 'Lawrence's Great Bazaar', which operated in that city until 1916.

http://genforum.genealogy.com/rowan/mess...

Picture of the Photo Gallery:

http://www.lawrencecollection.com/Images...

Answer 2

There are many different reasons why some organisations felt the need for an armed insurrection in 1916. The Famine, or Great Hunger of the 1840's, when a milllion people died of starvation in a country where there was plenty of food, followed by massive emigration suggests that the British Government were pursuing a policy of land clearance. This of course resulted in the decline of the Irish language, the decline of the Irish spirit and would later mainfest itself in a move towards independence. The phrase, Forgive but don't Forget, is often used regarding the Great Hunger. Remember that the men and women of '16 were only a generation or so removed from the 1840's, so without doubt, The Famine had a bearing on the "build-up" to the Rising. One thing we also discuss on the 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour, is the intricacies surround the formation of the various organisations that sprung up at the turn of the 20th Century. The following is a fairly brief account of the Timeline to the Easter Rising, and is a handy guide for students of Irish History. Feel free to copy or distribute:

November 1st 1884 The Gaelic Athletic Association founded to promote Irish sport and games. The association denies membership to the police and army and was immediately infiltrated by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).

April 8th 1886 First Home Rule Bill for Ireland presented by Gladstone, the Liberal Prime Minister of Britain, to the House of Commons.

June 8th 1886 First Home Rule Bill defeated by 343 votes to 313.

July 31st 1893 Gaelic League founded by Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill in order to encourage Irish people to speak the language and take a greater interest in their culture.

September 1st 1893 Gladstones' Second Home Rule Bill passed by House of Commons but vetoed by The House of Lords by 419 votes to 41.

September 1900 Cumann na nGaedheal (Irish Council) founded by Arthur Griffith in order to promote a buy Irish campaign.

1903 National Council formed by Griffith to protest the proposed visit of Edward VII to Ireland. The Council attracts members such as W B Yeats and Maude Gonne.

1905 Dungannon Clubs founded in Ulster to promote separatism from Britain. Bulmer Hobson and Denis McCullogh, IRB revivalists, were the main organisers of these societies.

1905-07 Cumann na Gaedheal, the National Council and The Dungannon Clubs are amalgamated to form Sinn Féin (We Ourselves)

August 1909 Countess Markievicz and Bulmer Hobson organise nationalist youths into Na Fianna Éireann (Warriors of Ireland) a kind of Boy Scout brigade. The emphasis was on the Irish Language and establishing independence. Many members were later to join the IRB.

April 1912 Asquith introduces the Third Home Rule Bill to the British Parliament. Passed by the Commons and rejected by the Lords the Bill would have to become law thanks to the Parliament Act. Home Rule expected to be introduced for Ireland by autumn 1914.

January 1913 Sir Edward Carson and James Craig set up Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) with the intention of defending Ulster against Home Rule.

1913 Jim Larkin founder of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) calls for a workers strike for better pay and conditions.

August 31st 1913 Massive protest rally on Sackville Street attacked by the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Two strikers killed by the police.

November 23rd 1913 Larkin and James Connolly establish the Irish Citizens Army in order to protect strikers.

November 25th 1913 The Irish Volunteers founded in Dublin to "secure the rights and liberties common to all the people of Ireland". By 1914 their ranks swell to 100,000. In line with the Volunteers, a womens league, (Cumann Na mBan) is founded and organised by Countess Markievicz, Agnes O'Farrelly and Mary MacSwiney.

April 24th 1914 A shipment of 35,000 rifles and 5 million rounds of ammunition are landed at Larne for the UVF

July 26th 1914 Irish Volunteers unload a shipment of 1,500 rifles and 45,000 rounds of ammunition freshly arrived from Germany aboard Erskine Childers' yacht the Asgard. British troops fire on jeering crowd on Bachelors Walk, Dublin, killing three citizens.

August 4th 1914 First World War declared. Home Rule for Ireland shelved for the duration of the war with Germany.

September 9th 1914 Meeting held at Gaelic League headquarters between IRB and other extreme republicans. Initial decision made to stage an uprising while Britain is at war.

September 20th 1914 John Redmond urges Irish Volunteers to enlist in the British Army. A split occurs in the movement as 170,000 leave the Volunteers and form the National Volunteers or Redmondites. Only 11,000 remain as the Irish volunteers under Eóin MacNeill.

May-September 1915 Military Council of the IRB is formed consisting of Pearse, Plunkett, MacDiarmada, Ceantt and Clarke. These men take effective control of the plans for the Rising.

August 1915 Pearse gives fiery oration at the funeral of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa warning Britain that "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace".

December 1915 Military Council manipulation ensures Denis McCullough becomes president of the IRB. McCullough has no knowledge of the Military Council or their plans.

January 1916 James Connolly encouraged to join the IRB and is voted onto the Military Council thus ensuring that the Irish Citizens Army shall be involved in the Rising. Thomas MacDonagh becomes the seventh member of the Military Council several weeks later. Rising date confirmed for Easter Sunday.

April 9th 1916 The Libau sets sail from Lubeck in Germany. Captain Karl Spindler changes the name of the vessel to the Aud to avoid detection by the British who would be very interested in her cargo of 20,000 rifles bound for Tralee Bay on the south west coast of Ireland.

April 12th 1916 Sir Roger Casement boards submarine U-19 at Wilmshaven, Germany, bound for a rendezvous with the Aud at Tralee. With him are Robert Monteith an IRB man and Sergeant Daniel Bailey a former prisoner of war who had joined Casements Irish Brigade. Casement tired and ill after many months in Germany seeking military assistance for the Rising.

April 19th 1916 Alderman Kelly reads the Castle Order to a meeting of Dublin Corporation. This forged document supposedly from Dublin Castle, indicated that there was to be mass arrests of Irish Volunteers to prevent "trouble".

April 20th 4.15pm The Aud arrives at Tralee Bay. As the local Volunteers expect the ship to arrive on Easter Saturday, the arms are not landed. Spindler waits in vain for a signal from shore.

April 21st

2.15am Roger Casement and his two companions go ashore from U-19 and land on Banna Strand. Bailey and Monteith go to seek the local Volunteers. Hour's later Casement is discovered at McKenna's Fort and is arrested by the Royal Irish Constabulary.

6.30pm The Aud is captured by the British Navy and forced to sail towards Cork Harbour.

April 22nd

1am Karl Spindler and his crew scuttle the Aud to prevent her precious cargo falling into enemy hands. The weapons for the Rising are lost to the sea off Daunt's Rock.

10pm Eóin MacNeill as Chief of Staff of the Irish Volunteers issues the Countermanding order in Dublin to try to stop the Rising. The O'Rahilly embarks on a journey to the South with these orders.

April 23rd 9am The Military Council meet to discuss the situation considering MacNeill has placed an advertisement in a Sunday newspaper halting all Volunteer operations. The Rising is put on hold for 24 hours. Hundreds of copies of The Proclamation of the Republic are printed in Liberty Hall.

April 24th 12 noon The 1916 Rising begins in Dublin.

Lorcan Collins

1916 Rebellion Walking Tour - Historical Dublin

ORGANISATIONS

The Irish Republican Brotherhood

In 1867 the Fenians staged an abortive rising and by the 1900's the I.R.B. as an effective organisation was in decline. New members Bulmer Hobson and Dennis McCullogh began to revive it with the assistance of Seán MacDiarmada. The respected old Fenian Thomas Clarke who had been released after a 15 year prison term befriended MacDiarmada, both of them set about recruiting new members and planning an uprising against British rule. By 1915 the old stock had been replaced and there were now 2,000 dedicated members of this secret organisation.

The Gaelic Athletic Association

An organisation founded on 1st November 1884 by Michael Cusack and P. W. Nally with the patronage of Parnell, Davitt and Archbishop Croke. The G.A.A. aimed to promote Irish games and build up a strong and healthy population. The G.A.A. was again infiltrated by the I.R.B. who used it as a recruiting ground. I-[;/t should also be noted that members of the security forces such as the Royal Irish Constabulary were banned from its membership.

The Gaelic League

An important organisation founded on 31st July 1893 by Douglas Hyde and Eóin MacNéill. The aim of the League was to promote the Irish language and culture which had been in decline since the Great Hunger. The success of the Gaelic League can be measured by the fact that 19 colleges were set up training 1,800 teachers. Pádraic Pearse was the editor of the Leagues newsletter An Claidheamh Soluis (The Sword of Light). The League was infiltrated by the I.R.B. who recruited from amongst the more dedicated nationalist members.

Sinn Féin

Arthur Griffith was the founder of a newspaper the United Irishman thanks to money from Clann Na Gael the American-Irish organisation. In 1900 he founded Cumann na Gaedheal to promote a "Buy Irish" campaign, effectively an economic version of the Gaelic Leagues cultural campaign. In 1903 Griffith set up the National Council to protest against the visit of Edward VII to Ireland. The I.R.B. revivalists Hobson and McCullogh had set up societies in Ulster, called Dungannon Clubs, to promote separatism from Britain. Between 1905 and 1908 Cumann Na Gaedheal, the National Council and the Dungannon Clubs amalgamated to form Sinn Féin (Ourselves). Sinn Féin were mistakenly accused of being behind the 1916 Rising, the actual organisers being the I.R.B.

The Ulster Volunteers

Home Rule was about to be introduced in Ireland. This was not acceptable to Irelands Northern Unionists who wished Ireland to remain part of Britain. In January 1913 Sir Edward Carson and James Craig set up the Ulster Volunteer Force (U.V.F.) to defend Ulster against Home Rule.

The Irish Volunteers

On 25th November 1913, 3000 men were inaugurated into a similar organisation for Nationalists called the Irish Volunteers in Dublin. Their aim was to secure the rights and liberties common to all the people of Ireland. By 1914 there were 100,000 Irish Volunteers, for the most unarmed, a figure which caused great alarm to to the British authorities. Again the I.R.B. infiltrated this organisation seeing its potential as a large revolutionary force.

The Howth Gun Running

On 26th July 1914 the Irish Volunteers unloaded a shipment of 1,500 rifles from a yacht belonging to Erskine Childers, The Asgard. The rifles and 45,000 rounds of ammunition had been purchased from Germany who were at war with Britain and were only too willing to cause disruption within their Empire.

Cumann na mBan

Along the lines of the Irish volunteers a women's auxiliary force was organised called Cumann na mBan. The main organisers were Agnes O'Farrelly, Mary MacSwiney and the Countess Markievicz. When the organisation absorbed the suffragette movement Inginidhe na hEireann (Daughters of Ireland) they adopted a uniform and became a regular army.

Na Fianna

In August 1909 Countess Markievicz and Bulmer Hobson, an IRB revivalist, organised the nationalist youth into Na Fianna Eireann (Warriors of Ireland). Na Fianna were the standing army and bodyguards of Ireland during the time of the mythological hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill. The idea behind the modern Fianna was to encourage the boys to study their heritage and culture thus developing their sense of nationalism and independence. Military drills were held alongside sporting events and Hobsons influence is clear when one considers that many of these "boy scouts" went on to become fully fledged members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Con Colbert, in charge of Watkins Brewery and its environs during the Rising was no doubt moulded by his time with the Fianna.

THE HISTORY OF THE IRISH FLAG

The Irish Tricolour is essentially a flag of union. Its origin is to be sought in the history of the early nineteenth century and it is emblematic of the fusion of the older elements, represented by the green, with the newer elements, represented by the orange.

The combination of both colours in the tricolour, with the white between in token of brotherhood, symbolises the union of the different stocks in a common nationality. Irish tricolours were mentioned in 1830 and 1844, but widespread recognition was not accorded the flag until 1848.

From March of that year Irish tricolours appeared side by side with French ones at meetings held all over the country to celebrate the revolution that had just then taken place in France.

In April, Thomas Francis Meagher, a.k.a. Meagher of the Sword, the Young Ireland leader, brought a silk tricolour of orange, white and green from Paris and presented it to a Dublin meeting. John Mitchel, referring to it, said: "I hope to see that flag one day waving as our national banner." At that time, however, and for long afterwards, the national flag was the green one with a yellow or gold harp.  



The National Flag of Ireland





The Irish Republic emblazoned in gold lettering on a green background provided inspiration to the rebels in the GPO, where the flag flew alongside the tricolour.

Although the tricolour was not forgotten as a symbol of union and a banner associated with the Young Irelanders, it was little used between 1848 and 1916. Even up to the eve of the Rising in 1916, the green flag with the gold harp held undisputed sway. Neither the colours nor the arrangement of the early tricolours was standardised. All of the 1848 tricolours showed green, white and orange, but orange was sometimes put next to the staff, and in at least one flag the order was orange, green and white.

In 1850 a flag of green for the Catholics, orange for the Protestants of the Establishment and blue for the Presbyterians was proposed. In 1883 a Parnellite tricolour of yellow, white and green, arranged horizontally, is recorded. Down to recent times yellow had occasionally been used instead of orange, but by this substitution the fundamental symbolism is destroyed.

Associated with the secession movement in the past, flown over the G.P.O. during the Rising and capturing the banner of the new revolutionary Ireland, it was soon acclaimed throughout the country as the national flag. It continued to be recognised by official usage during the period 1922-1937, when its position as the national flag was formally confirmed by the Constitution of 1937, Article 7 of which states: "The national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange."

POBLACHT NA h-EIREANN

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT

OF THE

IRISH REPUBLIC

TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND

IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.

Having organised and trained her manhood through her secret revolutionary organisation, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and through her open military organisations, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her discipline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes that moment, and supported by her exiled children in America and by gallant allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, she strikes in full confidence of victory.

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. 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 the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.

Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent National Government, representative of the whole people of Ireland and elected by the suffrages of all her men and women, the Provisional Government, hereby constituted, will administer the civil and military affairs of the Republic in trust for the people.

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline, and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called.

James Stephens

James Stephens, author of The Crock Of Gold, published The Insurrection in Dublin, his diary of Easter Week, a few months after the occasion. It is an excellent account of how the average citizen felt during the Rebellion and is highly recommended. The 1916 insurrection or Easter Rising is a very significant event in Irish history. At the time, however, few people supported the Rebels, fearing the unknown perhaps. Come along on our historical walk through the streets of Dublin. You will be brought to many of the sites of the Easter Rising, enjoying the chance of learning as much about all aspects of Irish history as you wish. Of all historical walks ours is the most interactive with free copies of the Proclamation for every participant and the chance to engage with other participants and your guide on the walk.

CHAPTER III

WEDNESDAY

  

It was three o'clock before I got to sleep last night, and during the hours machine guns and rifle firing had been continuous. This morning the sun is shining brilliantly, and the movement in the streets possesses more of animation than it has done. The movement ends always in a knot of people, and folk go from group to group vainly seeking information, and quite content if the rumour they presently gather differs even a little from the one they have just communicated. The first statement I heard was that the Green had been taken by the military; the second that it had been re-taken; the third that it had not been taken at all. The facts at last emerged that the Green had not been occupied by the soldiers, but that the Volunteers had retreated from it into a house which commanded it. This was found to be the College of Surgeons, and from the windows and roof of this College they were sniping. A machine gun was mounted on the roof; other machine guns, however opposed them from the roofs of the Shelbourne Hotel, the United Service Club, and the Alexandra Club. Thus a triangular duel opened between these positions across the trees of the Park. Through the railings of the Green some rifles and Bandoliers could be seen lying on the ground, as also the deserted trenches and snipers' holes. Small boys bolted in to see these sights and bolted out again with bullets quickening their feet. Small boys do not believe that people will really kill them, but small boys were killed

The Poets of The Easter Rising

Introduction

Perhaps the best known of all the writers, artists and poets connected to the Easter Rising is William Butler Yeats. Hardly a discussion on 1916 would be complete without someone quoting with sincere wisdom that all was changed, changed utterly. Of course Yeats was commenting from the sideline as revolutions are hardly the place for writers and poets! And yet amongst the executed leaders of the Easter Rising there were enough writers and poets to deserve their own genre. Come on the 1916 Walking Tour sometime where the poets of the 1916 Rising will be discussed in more detail but for now the following article should provide some insight into these characters.

Thomas MacDonagh

Thomas MacDonagh was well known in literary circles. He was a school teacher like both of his parents, a keen language enthusiast (he first met Padraic Pearse on the Aran Islands) and editor of The Irish Review, a literary periodical. These were unlikely traits for a revolutionary and yet MacDonagh was heavily involved with the IRB since 1908. He was close to MacDiarmada and Clarke and was Chief Marshal (main organizer) for the funeral of O'Donovan Rossa. MacDonagh married Muriel Gifford whose sister Grace would later be married to Joseph Plunkett in Kilmainham Gaol. One of his more poignant poems is his Wishes for my Son who was born on Saint Cecilias Day 1912.

Now, my son, is life for you,

And I wish you joy of it,

Joy of power in all you do,

Deeper passion, better wit

Than I had who had enough,

Quicker life and length thereof,

More of every gift but love.

MacDonagh was the first teacher to be given a position in Padraic Pearse's new school, St. Endas.

Padraic Pearse

Pearse of course was the bi-lingual writer, the teacher, the first Provisional President of the Irish Republic as declared in 1916 and also the visionary poet. His oration at Rossa's funeral is still quoted and indeed relevant today;

They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half.

Pearse was only 17 when he founded the New Ireland Literary Society which was dedicated to the study and spreading of Irish folk-lore, literature and poetry. He went on to edit An Claideamh Soluis for many years until he realized one of his life ambitions and established his school. Pearse wrote that the true work of the teacher was "to help the child to realize himself at his best and worthiest" as opposed to the British educational system which he classically termed The Murder Machine, churning out the boys for the trenches and the girls for the factories. There are few more emotive poems than those written by Pearse during his final hours of life. Pearse was devoted to his mother, to whom he wrote in a letter that he would call to her in his heart at the last moment and he was equally devoted to his younger brother Willie. His poem, "To My Brother" was written in Arbour Hill Detention Barracks on May Day, 1916;

"O faithful! Moulded in one womb,

We two have stood together all the years,

All the glad years and all the sorrowful years."

It ends: "You only have been my familiar friend,

Nor needed I another."

Joseph Plunkett

Pearse and MacDonagh were in good company with Joseph Plunkett who was involved with the latter on The Irish Review. It was Plunkett who, despite the fragility of his health, traveled in a very circuitous journey to Germany in April 1915 in order to meet Roger Casement. Plunkett also traveled to America to meet Clan na Gael leaders and to finalise plans for the Rising. James Connolly said of Joe that he had the greatest military mind and few people would doubt that the Kimmage man was responsible for the actual military plans for the Rising. One poem of Plunkett's worth recalling is This Heritage to the Race of Kings:

This heritage to the race of kings

Their children and their children's seed

Have wrought their prophecies in deed

Of terrible and splendid things.

The hands that fought, the hearts that broke

In old immortal tragedies,

These have not failed beneath the skies,

Their children's heads refuse the yoke.

And still their hands shall guard the sod

That holds their father's funeral urn,

Still shall their hearts volcanic burn

With anger of the sons of God.

No alien sword shall earn as wage

The entail of their blood and tears,

No shameful price for peaceful years

Shall ever part this heritage.

James Connolly

Edinburgh's own James Connolly, although often seen as more of a political writer and Marxist theorist did dabble in poetry and even wrote a play entitled Under Which Flag. The play, concerning the Fenian Rising of 1867, could not be considered a masterpiece but is not without merit. Besides the genius of Connolly's historical and political writings, he wrote some fine ballads many of which are still recited today. They are stirring songs of Labour and Revolution without sentimentality or banality one of the better ones being A Rebel Song:

Out of the depths of misery

We march with hearts aflame;

With wrath against the rulers false

Who wreck our manhood's name.

The serf who licks the tyrant's rod

May bend forgiving knee;

The slave who breaks his slavery's chain

A wrathful man must be.

Roger Casement

Roger Casement rarely receives a mention when it comes to the writers and poets of 1916 and yet his reports from the Putumayo and from the Congo show a writer of great talent. His descriptions of the horrendous brutality inflicted on innocent and perfectly peaceful native inhabitants was enough to force a change of policy with regard to the treatment of workers and slaves on the rubber plantations. Casement wrote in 1911 that "The robbery of Ireland since the Union has been so colossal, carried out on such a scale, that if the true account current between the two countries were ever submitted to any impartial tribunal England would be clapped in jail." Besides his obvious wit he managed to write some serious and emotive rhyme including his poem Parnell:

Of unmatched skill to lead by pathways rife

With danger and dark doubt, where slander's knife

Gleamed ever bare to wound, yet over all

He pressed triumphant on- lo, thus to fall.

THE ______ END

i thing thats enough

Answer 3

they rose up, they died