In her biography of the 1916 proclamation signatory, Joseph Plunkett, Honor O Brolchain tells a fascinating story. A Dublin jeweller on the afternoon of May 3rd 1916 was attending to a young lady who was purchasing wedding bands. She bought two rings but seemed very upset. When he asked her what the matter was she […]
Since the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising the men and the words that inspired the eventual founding of the Irish Republic are thankfully being given a prominence by at least some people in the public arena – in places such as the voluntarily restored monument of Kilmainham Gaol. There are two facets to Kilmainham […]
Of all the writing where Pearse elucidates his revolutionary conscience, his poem ‘The Rebel’ is clearest. There is a searing sense of righteous pain in its lines, arising from the sense of a denial of destiny -a betrayal of the dignity of humanity formed in God’s image. It harkens back to Robert Emmet’s speech from […]
James Connolly is often cited by the current liberal left movement as an icon, even though most of them either never believed in, or have ceased to believe in, Connolly’s goal of an independent sovereign Republic based on the generally understood concept of justice. Connolly was not a statist who advocated the replacement of private […]
The furore over the video played by Irish soccer manager, Stephen Kenny, prior to Ireland’s match against England appears on the face of it to be somewhat farcical. The “motivational” film – whose efficacy might best be judged by the fact that Ireland lost 3 – 0 – seems to have offended certain people because of […]
The village I grew up in, settled in and even managed to find a husband in is a rural village in South Offaly called Cadamstown which lies at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Visitors to the area come here regularly to experience its tranquility and beauty, one would never suspect that this village […]
Pádraig Mac Piarais (Padraig Pearse) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary; he who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916. Following his execution along with fifteen others, Pearse came to be seen by many as the embodiment of the rebellion. Pádraig, his brother Willie, […]
Kevin Gerard Barry was the first Irish republican to be executed by the British since the leaders of the Easter Rising. He was a 18-year-old medical student who had won a merit-based scholarship given annually by Dublin Corporation, which allowed him to become a student of medicine at UCD. Born on Fleet Street, Dublin, the […]
Dublin City Council have passed a motion to list the home of 1916 hero The O’Rahilly on the Register of Protected Structures, pending examination of the issue. This means that the house cannot be demolished in the while it remains on the Register. The success of the motion, proposed by Sinn Féin’s Micheál Mac Donncha comes after […]
Aontú leader, Peadar Tóibín, has said that after 10 years of Fine Gael government the historical Moore Street battle site where the final battles of the 1916 Rising took place is shrouded in grime and dereliction. “The most important battle field site of the republic is now a place where people urinate and defecate and traders are assaulted,” […]
Easter Rising leaders: Pádraig Pearse, Thomas Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh were executed by a firing squad in Kilmainham Gaol. #gript
“My dear Mother, You will I know have been longing to hear from me. I do not know how much you have heard since the last note I sent you from the G.P.O. On Friday evening the Post Office was set on fire and we had to abandon it. We dashed into Moore Street and […]