Willie was very devoted to Pádraig and the brothers had a very close relationship.
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 […]
Spring and Fall bookend the season of flourishing and withering, and so it is the title of Gerard Manley Hopkins address to a young girl, who laments the passing of the multitudes of leaves in autumn. In this poem the author questions a child, Margaret, over the cause of her grief. She grieves over the […]
Thomas MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary in 1878 to schoolteacher parents. His parents were not supporters of nationalist politics and in fact the young Thomas was not interested in the burgeoning Irish language movements of the time. Like his parents he went into teaching. He also became involved in the cultural and literal […]
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 […]
The Decade of Centenaries Programme that was initiated in 2012 and which is set to end in 2023 has allowed us to revisit and to celebrate some of the great milestones of Irish history. These include the foundation of the Irish Volunteers, the Home Rule and Land Bills, the 1913 Lockout, the 1916 Rising, the […]
Organised by a seven-man Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Rising began on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916 and lasted for six days. These illustrations were by Brian O’Higgins, also known as Brian na Banban, who was an Irish writer, poet, soldier and politician. He was a founding member of the Irish Volunteers […]
Joseph Mary Plunkett (Irish: Sesamh Máire Pluincéid) was an Irish nationalist, republican, poet, journalist, revolutionary and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising
Thomas MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, to Joseph MacDonagh, a schoolmaster, and Mary Parker. He grew up in a household filled with music, poetry and learning and was instilled with a love of both English and Irish culture from a young age. A member of the Gaelic League, he was a teacher and […]
Thomas Ashe trained as a teacher and worked as a school principal in Lusk, Co. Dublin. He was a poet, piper and talented singer and having being reared in the Gaeltacht in Kerry, was an avid supporter of the Irish language. This brought him to the governing body of the Gaelic League, he was also […]
Joseph Mary Plunkett, Seosamh Máire Pluincéid, was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, revolutionary and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. Throughout his life, Joseph Plunkett took an active interest in Irish heritage and the Irish language; joined the Gaelic League and began studying with Thomas MacDonagh, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. The […]