The Situation In Ireland Essay, Research Paper

& # 8220 ; But who are we that we should waver to decease for Ireland. Are non the claims of Ireland greater on us than any personal 1s? Is it fear that deters us from such an endeavor? Away with such frights. Cowards die many times, the brave merely die once. & # 8221 ; Padraic Pearse ( rebellion leader ) , 1916 ( The New Republic, 34 ) Pearse & # 8217 ; s words, spoken merely before the Easter rebellion, summarizes many Irish feelings toward rebellion for independency. In order to derive freedom from the British, revolutionists were willing to give anything, even their lives. For centuries, the Irish had been portion of the huge British imperium and for most of that clip, they struggled to obtain their sovereignty. Numerous events sparked this discontent in Ireland in the early twentieth century. At the top of their list of grudges was the political intervention of the Irish. The Irish parliament was extremely unequal and inefficient with no existent power to stand for the people ( The Outlook, pg 116 ) . Additionally, Britain governed Ireland in the same mode that it governed all of its districts ; it ruled harmonizing to what would outdo serve Great Britain, non the district. For illustration, Ireland & # 8217 ; s commercialism was discouraged and their fabrication was paralyzed by British statute law ( The Outlook, pg 116 ) . Religious intervention of Roman Catholics besides angered the Irish. A big figure of Irish were ( and still are ) Catholic and were repressed in many ways by English legislative assembly. They were expected to pay revenue enhancements to back up the Established Church of England, which gave Catholics no services. Furthermore, Britain forbade Catholics from supplying instruction for their ain kids. Catholics could non be instructors and parents could non direct their kids abroad for instruction without forfeiture of their belongings and citizenship ( The Outlook, pg 117 ) . Although these actions by the British authorities infuriated the Irish, the new moving ridge of rebellion really began once more in 1914 with the British authorities & # 8217 ; s abrogation of the late enacted Home Rule Bill, which gave the Irish some step of political liberty. These feelings came to a extremum on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916 in the Irish capital of Dublin when about 1500 work forces, led by Pearse, seized the station office and other strategic points. These work forces were members of the Citizen Army, an illegal force of Dublin citizens organized by labour leader Jim Larkin and socialist James Connolly. From here, they established themselves in military manner by raising roadblocks of sandbags and shuting off the streets with biting wire. Shortly after, the leaders of the rebellion declared Ireland independent and raised the national flag above the metropolis. Among those who signed the announcement of independency were Pearse, Connolly, poet Thomas McDonagh, and Sir Roger David Casement. Pearse was named president and

Connolly was named “Commander General of the Irish Republican Army” (The Independent, pg 203). From the roofs and nearby houses, snipers shot any uniformed British soldier who came into sight. By April 25, the rebels controlled a great deal of the city. The British quickly launched their counterattack on Tuesday, when additional troops arrived in Dublin. Violent street fighting soon developed in the city, during which the British steadily removed the Irish from their positions. The Irish became no match for the British forces, and realizing they had no chance for victory, Pearse surrendered on April 29. The Easter Rebellion had several effects on Irish politics and history. Civilians suffered severely in the few short days of fighting; over 100 deaths were reported, including women and children (The Independent, pg 204). The British lost approximately 440 troops and about 200 buildings were destroyed in Dublin (Encarta). Fifteen men, including Pearse and Connolly, who led the rebellion and declared Ireland’s independence were executed by a firing squad as well. Other participants in the rebellion received imprisonment for life. The Easter Rebellion also led to the increased power of the Senn Fein movement, an organization who promoted Celtic language and literature and pushed for absolute independence of Ireland. Pearse, Connolly and several other leaders were members of the Senn Fein organization. Finally, this uprising was the first in a series of events that resulted with the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921.One final point of interest to note about the Easter Rebellion is possible German influence. During World War I, which was occurring at the time of the Irish revolt, Germany’s primary opponent was the British. The Germans believed that if Britain could be removed or even distracted from the war for a period of time, they (Germany) would have a greater chance of victory. For this reason, many wonder how much encouragement, if any, was received by the Irish to initiate a rebellion. It is almost certain, however, that there was a connection between the two because some of the guns found on the Irish rebels were marked “Made in Germany” and an attempt was made a week prior to the outbreak in Dublin to land 15,000 rifles on the west coast of Ireland. The arms were aboard a German vessel disguised as a Dutch merchant ship and were so skillfully hidden that the ship passed inspection of two British patrols on its way out of the North Sea (The Independent, pg 203). Germany never acknowledged any assistance of the Irish rebels, however.Bibliography”Easter Rebellion.” Encyclopedia Encarta. 1993.Hackett, Francis. “The Irish Revolt.” The New Republic. vol. 7. (May 13, 1916): 34-36.”The Irish Revolt.” The Outlook. vol. 113 (May 17, 1916): 116-119.Ward, William Hayes, ed. “The Irish Revolt.” The Independent. vol. 86 (May 8,1916): 202-204.