1900 to easter pge 5
When war began on August 4 1914 Ulster contributed several regiments to the British effort in addition to 2 regiments from Leinster Fusiliers, the Connaght Rangers,The Dublin Fusieliers, Munster Fusilielers and the Royal Irish Regiments.
These three regiments, the Royal Irish Rifles of Belfast
Royal Irish Fusiliers of Armagh
Innishkillen Fusiliers of Omagh.
were directly from Ulster.
There were also 8 regiments in the Regular British Army drawn from Irishmen.
Meanwhile in America the IRB had already determined that a rising would occur sometime during the period of the Word War. How they knew the war would continue from 1914 to 1916 reamins an unexplored mystery.
Again, with the split between the Irish Volunteer physical force men and Redmonds National Volunteers over Redmonds decision to consede 6 Ulster counties to the unionist secession demands the unity of cause among the Irish forces was weakened.
Germany sold arms to this small force bringing force in the Asgard with 900 rifles and 25,000 rounds of munitions being delivered at Howth.
800 o f the Irish Volunteers showing up to gather these weopons.
The Kings Own Scotish Borderes tried to stop this gun running in the county Wicklow but were unsucessful. As the troop marched back to Dublin they were jeered by a crowd at Bachelors Walk.
This provoked a shot followed by a volley in which 3 civilians were killed and two dozen wounded.
Two sets of rules, one for the Loyalist ,and one for the natives,'the Irish enemy of the King' prevailed in Irleand.
Pearce responded gleefully
'the whole movement, the whole country has been re-baptised by bloodshed.'
As September 14,1914 dawned the Home Rule Bill became law without the exclusion bill.
On September 21 John Redmond triumphantly pledged the Irish National Volunteers of 188,000 men to the British Army regulars for European battlefields. 200,000 volunteered.
The Irish Volunteers split 13,000 dissenters lead by Pearce and the IRB infiltrators formed them on nationalism and they named themsleves the Irish Volunteers.
The Parliament although passing the HR Bill passed a Suspention Bill for a year or the duration of the War.
In the US Roger Casement, an English Peer ,along with the Fenian John Devoy worked with the German Counsulate to bring about a rebellion in Ireland along with judge Cohalen of the NY Supreme Court and Joe McGarriety of Philidelphia they worked from within nutral America to provide money ,arms and contacts with Germany.
Casement was also a knight and served in the British Foreign Service gaining an applalling horror of human rights abuses by the colonial government while serving in the Belgian Congo, and the treatment of Peruvian and Columbian Indian slaves on the colonial rubber plantations.
He had been born in Antrim ,the heart of Ulster prodistantism of an Anglican Assendant family. He became enamourd with Irish nationalism in 1904 through his friendship with DouglasHyde, the Gaelic League founder.
He was also inspired to assist the nationalist cause by his exposure to his fellow Ulstermen resistance tactics.This converted him to militant nationalism.
He helped found the Irish Volunteers and was an organizer of the Howth gun running expidition.
In meeting with Devoy and McGarrity in Philidelphia he outlined his plan to Ireland..
They met with German diplomats at NY who agreed to the plan.
Casement enlisted as his aid a Norwegian sailor Alder Christensen who was suspect by Devoy who had Christensen watched
he found Cristiansen often in the Tenderloin district meeting suspicious charaters in disreputable hotels. This led Devoy, a prudish bachelor to believe both Casement and Christensen were homosexuals and therefore a security risk.
Contacts with Ireland were made by courier as the IRB in Ireland distrusted the mails.
These messages were forwarded by Devoy to the German Consulate in NY.
Devoy and McGarrity raised great sums of American money transmitting these to thier IRB contacts in Ireland in sums of $5000 and $10,000 dollars by courier.
When Jeremaiah O Donovan died on June 28, 1915 at Staten Island at 84, not able to recognise his daughter and shouting Irish commands to unseen comrades ,a telegram sent to Tom Clarke in Ireland asking for instructions.
The body was dutifully shipped to Ireland for burial with a great show made by the IRB.
The smallest detail to the arrangments being applied throught out the countryside.
A graveside speech to be made by Padraig Pearce to summon a new generation to the spirit of revolution.
On August 1 1915 under rainy skys thousands gathered to watch the dead body brought to resting place at Glasnevin Cemetary.
The National Volunteers in splendid uniforms with rifles along with Connollys Irish Citizens Army and the Irish Boy Scouts, Fianna Na h Eireann founded by Countess Markievicz marched.
Pearce dressed in the National Volunterrs uniform deliverd his speech saying:
'life springs from death and from the graves of partiot men and women spring living nations.'---'but the fools the fools they have left us our Fenian dead and while Ireland holds these graves Ireland unfree will never be at peace.'
page 6 easter
Socialist throughout Europe were awaiting a world wide revolution of the proletariat against imperialists as the war dragged on.
Connolly founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1898 and leader of the Irish Transport Workers from Liberty Hall in Dublin and the Citizens Army the armed nationalist maintained a pragmatic approach to the romantic cultural revolutionary represented by Pearce.
In January 1916 the IRB military council brought
Connolly into their plans to begin a rebellion on Easter Sunday April 23, 1916.
An assault on Dublin by 5000 troops with a similtanious rising in the countryside with assistance from Germany being arranged in NYC.
After three days of discussions James Connoly was sworn into the IRB and became a member of its military council joining labor and nationalism.
A courier was dispached to NY announcing the planned date of revolution asking arms and munitions be in Limerick between Good Friday and Easter Saturday 1916.
Devoy raised and sent on $100,00 to the IRB to buy weopons.
He asked the Germans for 100,00 rifles ,artillery and German officers to lead the rebellion.
The Germans announced they would supply 20,000 rifles and 10 machine guns in time for the rebellion.
At that time Roger Casement was in a German Sanatorium being both in poor mental and physical health, his brigade plan of Irish prisoners having failed.
Devoy asked the Germans to keep Casement in the dark as to the looming plans.
The plan called for the seizing if several Dublin strong points such as the general post office Boland mills and the St Stephens green.
The military council in the meanwhile changed the date of the rising ,9 days before the set date,
to Easter Monday ,April 24 sending a message to Devoy to change the date of delivery for German arms no earlier than Easter Sunday night.
The Aud had already left Germany and was at sea with no radio contact.
On April 18 the US Secret Service raided the German Consulate picking up the scattered communiques and documents of Devoys communications with Berlin lying about on the desks
British Intelligence however had already cracked the German code and knew the rebels intentions.
Eoin O Neill chairmen of the Irish volunters confronted Pearce at St Ednas on Holy Thursday getting conformation of the rising plans.
O Neill was furious and said he would cancel the rising but recinded next day and agreed to do nothing to stop the impending rebellion.
When the Aud arrived on schedule and recieved no on shore response they waited patiently. It was subsequently spotted by the British navy and ordered to Queens[Colb] in copunty Cork.
While sailing into that port the German captain skuttled the Aud sending arms and amunition to the bottom of the Irish Sea.
Casment meanwhile was landed from a German submarine on Banna Strand
in company with two friends and arrested by police within hours.
When macNeill heard of thses dissaters on Easter Saturday he recinded his pledge of support and placed an announcement in the Sunday Independant newspaper cancelling the Sunday manuver.
the military counci; rebels gathered on Easter Sunday at Liberty Hall.
Pearce believing they shoudl flee to the west.
Connolly disagreed that the fight should be in the Dublin Streets.
Clarke argued the planed rebellion should go forward.
The council decided a postphonement of one day.
They knew the government had been alerted and that if they did not act they woiuld be arrested anyway.
The Castle was preparing a list of suspects as traitors that had contacts with the German enemy.
They fixed the rebellion for Easter Monday
In Liberty Hall printers produced a copy of Pearces Proclaimation propclaiming an Irish republic.
The rebels assembled at Liberty Hall on the morn of Easter Monday, a national holiday.
Padraig Pearce the Commander in Chief of the Army of the Republic and President of the Provisional goverment [Poblacht na Eireann] arrived on his bycycle in the green Irish Volunteer uniform with slouched hat.
1000 of the planed 5000 showed up.
Pearce Connoly Clarke and the rest of headquarters marched to the GPO.
Connoly ordered the charge and a column of 100 men burst into the building.
Telegraph cables were cut ,windows smashed and the building cleared of civilians.
Pearce stepped out to read his famous Proclaimation.
'In the name of God and the dead generations Ireland summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom-'
The petitiion was signed by the 7 council members
Tom Clarke
Sean mac Dairmada
Padraig Pearce
James Connolly
Tom mac Donagh
Eamon Ceannet
Joseph Plunkett
The rebels raised 2 flags over the post office. A tri color of green white and orange.
The other homemade banner with the gold Irish harp on a green background bearing the gold hand painted words Irish Republic.
Judi Donnelly
copyright August 24 2007
sourses:
History of Ulster , Ramsey Colles, Vol IV, Gresham Publishing Coy Ltd 1919
For the Cause of Liberty, Terry Golway, Simon and Schuster, 2000
Modern Ireland, R F Foster, Penguin Books 1989
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