Image (Above): "Manning the Barricades," Walter Doughty, 1916
"They [The British] think that they have pacified Ireland. They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half. They think that they have foreseen everything, think that they have provided against everything; but the fools, the fools, the fools! — they have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves,
IRELAND UNFREE SHALL NEVER BE AT PEACE."
- Patrick Pearse, Irish Nationalist Leader
IRELAND UNFREE SHALL NEVER BE AT PEACE."
- Patrick Pearse, Irish Nationalist Leader
Thesis
Secret Irish nationalist organizations formed to end British rule in Ireland once and for all with a vehement rebellion to surprise the British: the Easter Rising of 1916. The conflict of Easter Rising demonstrated to the Irish public what was needed for their beloved nation to prosper. The compromise that diverged from this short-lived rebellion was essential in Ireland’s fight for independence, forever transforming Irish history. "Men perish but principles live. The fight in Ireland has been one for the soul of a race – that Irish race which with seven centuries of defeat behind it still battled for the sanctity of its dwelling place."
- James Connolly, Irish Nationalist Leader |