Easter Rising 1916 A Family Answers the Call for Ireland`s Freedom A Memoir of the Easter Rising Events 1916 - 2016: Easter Rising 1916 A Family Answers the Call for Ireland`s Freedom, #2

By Gabriel Woods

Irish men and women joined the Easter Rising on April 14 1916. They did so for Irish independence and freedom from British rule. The Easter Rising began when the Proclamation was read by Patrick Pearse outside the GPO. He declared Ireland`s right for independence and equality for all her people.
This second edition includes the Easter Rising events of 2016 and samples of Irish Culture from 1916.

 

Irish men and women joined the Easter Rising on April 14 1916. They did so for Irish independence and freedom from British rule. The Easter Rising began when the Proclamation was read by Patrick Pearse outside the GPO. He declared Ireland`s right for independence and equality for all her people.
This second edition has a broader scope . It is very different from most other books about the Easter Rising because Ireland in 2016 is included and an intriguing link is made between modern Ireland and 1916. The ebook, also available as a paperback packed with even more information about 1916. This book spans 100 years from 1916 to our time of 2016 and includes the ceremonies in Ireland which commemorated the Easter Rising. The offfice of the President of Ireland  Áras an Uachtaráin have selected an inspiring speech That Michael D Higgins, himself having relatives that fought in the Rising, delivered to the relatives of the rebels that took part in the Rising.  
Those who are interested in 1916 will love this book and also people interested in Irish art and culture in general would find this book fascinating. This book has an attractive appearance and includes poetry from the famous poets of 1916 with stunning images of the era. This paperback second edition of the popular e-book Easter Rising 1916 is both a moving exploration of 1916 and a celebration of art and culture in Ireland 1916 - 2016

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gabriel Woods
• Release date: Apr 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201335618

Gabriel Woods

I am Gabriel Woods, author of The Golden age Trilogy and four other books including Easter Rising 1916 A Family Answers the Call for Ireland`s Freedom. My latest novel is The Golden Age Evolution, view Facebook Books by Gabriel Woods. I researched and described in my novel The Golden Age Dawns how a serious pandemic manifests and the proper international public health procedures used to control an outbreak such as in my novel the Black Marbella virus sweeps across London and the world. Covid international policy and how Covid has manifested differs widely from the proper public health procedures used to control virus outbreaks. I have obtained a Degree in Psychology and a Masters in Aid work Management from University College Dublin, a Certificate in Counselling from University Maynooth in Ireland and I am a fully trained life coach. I have travelled around the world and lived in Sydney and Brisbane in Australia. I explored major sacred places and the spiritual practices of aboriginal culture and the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim ancient sites of India. I am the author of nine published books and my very popular positively reviewed The Golden Age Trilogy.   

Book preview

Easter Rising 1916

A Family Answers The Call For Ireland’s Freedom

A Memoir Of The Easter Rising Events

1916 - 2016

By

Gabriel Woods

Copyright 2016 Gabriel Woods 

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. No part of this ebook may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the writer.

To all the men and women who died for the freedom and equality for all of Ireland’s citizens in the Easter Rising 1916.

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..cherishing all of the children of the nation equally..

The Proclamation 1916

Contents

Introduction

The Events of the Easter Rising 1916

The Aftermath

War and Peace

Irish Art and Culture 1916

The Easter Rising Ceremonies 2016

President Michael D. Higgins Speech

Referernces

About the Author 

Introduction

The Rising began on Easter Monday 1916 when a small group of people stood around Patrick Pearse as he attached ‘The Proclamation’ to a pillar on the GPO and declared Ireland an independent state. The British military response was immediate, brutal and lethal. A few hundred men and women - poorly armed and insufficiently trained - were pitted against the best trained soldiers the world had ever seen.

By Wednesday of Easter week, there were ten thousand British soldiers in Dublin, increasing each day. The rebels fought bravely in the city centre. The peak of the British attack occurred when a military gunship floated up the Liffey. The warship stopped outside Liberty Hall by the quays. The gun boat shelled Liberty Hall where men, women and even a few teenage boys were protesting against British rule. The shells killed them instantly as the building exploded into ruins. The response to the Rising by the British was instant because troops were called in from the rest of Ireland, from bases where soldiers were training such as the Curragh in Kildare. Then, troops were shipped in regularly from Wales, Scotland and England.

The GPO was the focal point of the Easter Rising. To me, it is the symbol of Dublin. The Rising started in the General Post Office. The GPO became a refuge for the rebels as they fought hopelessly against the British Empire for almost a week. When the rebels began to flee the GPO, as the building was being shelled, most of them were captured. The General Post Office was no longer a refuge. The majestic GPO was reduced to ruins and the interior completely collapsed with only the walls and pillars still standing. The bullet holes of the 1916 Rising battle can still be seen on the GPO’s pillars - a chilling reminder of Ireland’s sometimes violent history.

Shockwaves resulted from the Easter Rising that shook Ireland and the British Empire. The people of Ireland were disgusted with the executions as well as the deaths that occurred during the Rising. They felt it was an overreaction. They wondered if that sort of violence would be used against Irish people again if they did not comply with Britain? Would Britain introduce conscription and force Irish people to mainland Europe to fight in the First World War?

The Empire was also in shock. Ireland had been colonised for seven hundred years. The colonisation had been so successful that Irish people had accepted the rule of Britain. Some historians say that the British had information about a possible Rising but it was ignored by Dublin Castle. On the day of the Rising, there were only two people in Dublin Castle. The Empire was shaken by the insurrection; the English never expected any kind of insurrection in Ireland. The subjects of Britain in other colonised countries observed the events in Ireland. It is possible that people in India may have been inspired by the Irish insurrection and decided to revolt also. The British Empire was slowly crumbling away.

Irish history and culture for hundreds of years has been intertwined with Catholicism. In Primary School as a child, I sang in the choir. The Headmaster was the Leader of the choir. When we were training to sing, we warmed up with an old Irish song, adapted by Patrick Pearse, from which I provide a verse in Irish and English in this book. The song was about a fearless Irish female pirate Gráinne Mhaol, who plundered English ships for supplies. She was imprisoned twice. The song went that someday she would escape imprisonment and arrive back to Ireland with soldiers to kill the English. The Headmaster would get so excited singing this song each time we sang it. He would dramatically punch the air with his fist for the high note and stab the floor with his conductor’s baton, swaying the stick to and fro to indicate a ship coming across the sea. His face would turn red as he went into a frenzy as we sang. We also sang catholic religious songs during the same session. The Headmaster would diligently ensure we sang each note perfectly.

I have always had an interest in Irish history. I had a teacher that taught me history who made a very strong impression on me. I was often bored in school classes but this teacher caught my attention nearly every time I was in his class. He was spellbinding with his enthusiasm for the subject. When he taught Irish history, he often struggled to maintain objectivity. He was determined to teach history objectively. He wanted his students to know all the facts about groups involved in the events in history. He would make comments about why the English behaved the way they did in 1916 or the War of Independence. Yet, amidst these words, I could hear his sighs of frustration. I saw him sometimes clench his fists or strum his fingers rapidly on the table top. At other times, when he talked about Irish history, he failed altogether to conceal his true beliefs and he just appeared simply annoyed. The important lesson he taught me was to endeavour to look at events and people with objectivity even if it is just an attempt to do so.

In Ireland’s past there was a marriage between Christianity and Irish culture. There were stories about Saint Patrick and his miracles. There is a story about Cúchulainn, a great warrior in Irish folklore. He killed his opponents with only a sling shot and a round stone. He was sad to have killed the king’s watchdog while only a small boy. The king chose him to guard his castle and, eventually, Cúchulainn became part of the king’s royal guard. In his final battle, hundreds of his opponents attacked him all at once. He was severely wounded and laid himself across a rock. In images of this event, he does so in a Christ-like manner, arms outstretched on both sides, head leaning to his right shoulder with only animal-skin cloth wrapped around his waist and limbs. His opponents, terrified he may not be dead, waited until a raven flew onto his shoulder and picked his eye, similar to how the Romans prodded Jesus with a spear to make sure he was dead. Christianity was also a strong characteristic present in many of those that took part in the Rising. The rebels were church-goers and wrote about Christianity in their poetry. Patrick Pearse, a leader of the Rising claimed