Poem ~ The Rise Of Ireland: Day Of Equinox - Monday, 24 April 1916

Impression sketch of James Connolly. [online] See original image at: <http://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/23806> [Accessed: 24 April 2016]

Impression sketch of Roger Casement. [online] See original image at: <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Roger_Casement_(6188264610).jpg> [Accessed: 24 April 2016]

Impression sketch of Patrick Pearse. [online] See original image at: <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patrick_Pearse.jpg> [Accessed: 24 April 2016]

Monday - The Rise Of Ireland: A Resurrection

i

While war might still continue, preparations

For public holiday celebrations

Still go on - with one of two annual equinox,

Month of March sees the sun cross

The celestial equator, when night and day

Align in hours of light and darkness.

From the Roman to the Julian Calendars

Reforms, to correct the year's length

Emerged - by instalment of the Gregorian

Timetable that would realign day

Of Easter and the start of Spring Equinox -

For 1916 the date of the festival

Of Easter, was latest of many recent years.

Easter day in 1916, would fall late to date

23 April, with Easter Monday

24 April - the fourth time only of Gregorian

Calendar - the next date to fall

In year 2000 - within Ireland, such a day

Would have equal significance

To the Christian resurrection of Jesus.

Home Rule Games

ii

Three years before, prior to any definite

War, a campaign for Ireland

Seeking independence, seemed about

To take a positive turn - when

British Government formed their stamp

Of approval to a home rule plan.

For Centuries, to number more than

Seven, Britain had ruled over

Ireland - despite rebellion attempts

To counter this, insurgents

Had been oppressed - the treatment

Of Irish had seen land wars,

With lives lost - starved by famines.

The idea of home rule yet divided

Opinion - for protestants in

North, believed a parliament would

Be dominated by catholic

Presence - against this, formed militia

Ulster Volunteer Force.

In response, were those Irish people

Who sought home rule -

The third bill for self-government saw

Irish Scholar Eoin MacNeill,

Move to assist the formation of Irish

Volunteer’s as nationalists -

Meetings led to launch, 25 November.

In that autumn of 1913 The Rotunda

Meeting saw a great

Public response - 4,000 people were

Inside and 3,000 outside -

Speaker’s voices were hardly heard;

A band played music,

While people clamored to be let in.

A small silken bow could be seen

On lapels of stewards -

With a white centre and either side

Green and orange,

Adopted as Irish National banner;

The atmosphere electric.

While these two militia forces had

Formed, Britain did not

Make any move - to know if turning

On one or other or both,

The carnage result would be terrible;

Neither side were armed.

Germany: Ireland's Ally

iii

The Rotunda rally had been to defend

Home rule - this was no ruse

To reassert any type of rebellion - then

Within a year, home rule

Was shelved, as war emerged with

Germany - instead came call

For Empires troops, including Ireland.

Many men enlisted, lowering number

Of the Irish Volunteers -

Disenchantment did not abate between

Nationalists - within them

A collection of seven men gathered,

After only a month of war.

Thomas MacDonagh, Seán McDermott,

Joseph Plunkett, Tom Clarke,

Éamonn Ceannt P.H. Pearse, along with

James Connolly - all met

At Rutand square, in the Gaelic League

Library - with others present,

Chaired by Clarke, the meeting made results.

The discussion centered around an idea

Of insurrection to be in Ireland.

They would take the advantage of England

At war, to gain Irish Independence -

Even to seek assistance from Germany;

But only to expel the British rule.

If any German force was to land in Ireland

They would only assist;

By this condition, Ireland would not be

Occupied by German rule.

A plan would be to seek their support

And secret recruitment.

Planned action would then take place

On the date of Easter 1916 -

A renewed rising to light age old torch;

For Irish people to stand

Against British Rule - this attack would

Take place across the land -

The source was to be Irish Volunteers.

A stumbling block would be leader

MacNeill - who would

Never agree to the volunteer force

Used in such methods.

So a decision was made to make all

Plans without him.

A Call For Arms

iV

In preparation by various methods,

Arms were needed for the

Cause - initially, small loads of weapons

Had been smuggled into

Ireland - to include Austrian Mannlicher

And Austrian Vetterli guns;

As well as obsolete 1888 German rifles.

Many arms had been received prior

To war - as with two small

Boatloads of 1871 German Mauser

Rifles - then, in secrecy,

The Irish Republican brotherhood,

Approached a skeptical

Germany, to assist their Irish revolt.

The gathering of arms, were to occur

Right up to the last moment

Possible - on 13 April two young men,

A labourer Patrick Doyle

And a chauffeur Joseph Kenny, stood

Before court, charged under

Defence of Realm Act, for holding arms.

On 9th April the two were travelling

By car when stopped.

Caught by the police, they admitted

To carrying arms -

Found in their possession were 8 double

Barreled shot guns, 

As well as 10 rounds of magazine rifles.

Along with 4 revolvers and ammunition

To hold homemade bayonets -

Standing as witness, a sergeant stated

Both men had been seen

Marching, in company of Irish Volunteers,

In County Wexford.

With the case being verified, the belief

Was how the two men

Were nothing more than messengers -

Yet aware of the nature

Of their mission, they were sentenced

Up to 3 months.

Rebel Leaders

V

Alongside and outside, the organisers

Included Roger Casement,

A British Diplomat of Irish birth, whose

Activist of humanitarian

And artistic leanings, held alongside his

Irish Nationalist ideals -

Developed a course to change his life.

Involvement with Irish republicanism

Grew from 1913 - Casement

Assisted in birth of Irish Volunteers,

To involve his travels to US,

To raise funds from an Irish Community.

Despite internal politics, Casement

With John Devoy, met

In New York German Diplomat - Count

Bernstoff, August 1914.

The plan for gaining German guns

Was to rebel against

English troops, diverted by the war.

Black-market rifles were not enough,

Military council gained 

Contact with British enemy, Germany -

A transaction finally 

Agreed; with German support affirmed,

The day had been

Confirmed, to rise at Easter 1916.

Within few short weeks of opening

Warfare, a disguised

Casement sailed for Germany via

Norway - the episode

Involved an outing, along with alleged

Ideas to stop him -

Then Casement made a negotiation.

Germany declared a solid vow,

Not to invade Ireland,

But to arrive as a supporting

Nation - furthermore

Casement sought to gain many

Recruits from Irish war

Prisoners, to train as rebel army.

Yet only 52 out of 2000 made

Any voluntary nod -

Despite the German promises

No training was given;

The attempt came to nothing -

Although April 1916,

German offered some armory.

A small portion that had been

Hoped for were sent:

10 machine guns along with

20,000 Mosin–Nagant

1891 rifles and a million rounds;

Finally Casement

Learned about Irish plan for 1916.

Setbacks and Promises

Vi

SS Libau, German boat, pretended 

To be a Norwegian vessel,

SS Castro - sailed to Ireland 9 April -

Concealed under the

A timber cargo was a German stash -

But communications

Of German origin were intercepted.

Washington sent words of attempts

To convey arms heading

For Ireland - while precise movements

Were unknown, HMS Bluebell

Detained the SS Libau - the boat was

To be escorted to Cobh,

When Captain Spindler set off charges.

Both boat and evidence sank, with crew

Taken prisoners - the day

Was Good Friday; this date being earlier

Than expected, no volunteers

Had been at the allotted rendezvous place;

The result had an effect -

All loss of arms altered Sunday's plans.

Dublin Parades had been to take place

On Easter Sunday -

As dawn broke on the day, the lack

Of clarity caused

Confusion - with given cancelations

Of all parades,

Confirmed within a Sunday newspaper.

Communication of orders went awry -

Organised acts across

Ireland, were to see a series of rebel

Attacks - as the Sunday

Unfolded orders followed other orders;

Volunteers mobilised

At County Tyrone and Cresslough.

Along with County Donegal all were

Ready, only to disperse

Without a fight - due to confused

Countermanding orders.

Cork in the south saw the muster

Of volunteers, to last

Without effect until Wednesday.

A Sunday call to a meeting did

Not want to lose

Momentum - Easter was perfect

Time to stir people

To a rising dawn of a new Ireland.

Actions on Easter

Monday were to still go ahead.

The military council decision

Was to merge

Volunteers and Irish Citizen

Army - to act

As the Irish Republic Force -

Messengers sent

To advise all units of orders.

Monday - Emerald Hopes

Vii

As the sun rose over Ireland,

Monday 24 April,

The plan became unraveled

Between rebels -

Within the capital of Dublin

Key areas were

To be taken over by Irish rebels.

Led by Ned Daly, 250 men would

Occupy the Four Courts -

To halt any attacks from the west

From British Barracks.

Across the river, D company being

12 men with Captain

Houston, held the Mendicity Charity.

2nd Battalion with MacDonagh's

200, ready to take

Jacobs Biscuit factory south of

The centre - others

Covered road and railways, and

Boland's Bakery,
As well as Beggars Bush Barracks.

4th Battalion of 100 men at Emerald

Square looked to take

The workhouse, to make defences.

From southwest -

A small number of men mustered

At Fairview, to move in

Direction of General Post office.

At Liberty Hall the citizen army and

Volunteers collected,

Under Connolly and Mallin - both

Men and women,

With aim for Irish liberty; women’s
Paramilitary Irish group,
'CnamB', had formed in April 1914.

Irishwomen's council or 'Cumann

na mBan' integrated

Into the Army of the Irish Republic,

To stand alongside

The men - occupying St Stephen's

Green and City Hall

Area, where barricades were made.

Some civilians did not want any fight,

Pulling and attacking

These barricades - some were shot
As others beaten away.

With everything in place for mid day

Signal - a small group

Were to seize Bastion Magazine Fort.

Located in Phoenix Park, the group

Disarmed British guards -

The plan to explode stores of ammo.

Despite efforts, a resulting

Explosion to signal the rising, was not

Enough to be heard across

Dublin city, over simultaneous attacks.

With son of fort's commander gunned

Down, in trying to raise

Alarm, a lone police sentry at Dublin

Castle gate was killed -

Shot by Seán Connolly - progress was

Halted in the guardroom,

As gates were shut and rebels shot at.

The castle siege was undertaken

By City Hall - despite

Being only lightly guarded - on this

First rebel day, the British

Military were taken by total surprise -

With troops sent out

To investigate - gaining casualties.

With such events going on around

Dublin perimeters,

The citizen army that had gathered

At Liberty Hall set

Off marching to General Post Office,

Set on the main

Roadway of Dublin's O'Connell Street.

Leaders MacDermott, Plunkett

And Clarke led the way

Into the building, which was taken

As their headquarters -

Two republican flags were hoisted,

Green, white and orange,

Flying as Patrick Pearse stepped out.

Before the grandeur of the GPO,

He read aloud principle

Proclamations that set out the

Intentions of rising -

For Irish people to own Ireland.

Using force to claim

Provisional Govt. of Irish Republic.

With seven signatories declared,

This was the true

Start of the rising, intended to

Alter Irish History,

For a future of independence -

Volunteers gave

Out copies of the proclamation.

With occupations made, along

With communication

Lines cut - except for a Morse

Code transmission,

To announce the new existence

Of an Irish republic -

All was set to defy British rule.

From outposts cut telephone

Wires hung, while

Railway stations were taken

With lines blown -

Nationalists controlled bridges,

As fresh air of new

Day hung calm, in expectation.

Nothing might stop ambitions -

The fight though

Was initiated elsewhere, with

An outpost held

At campus of the South Dublin

Workhouse - over

Fifty acres of a hospital site.

Astonished and frightened staff

Were overrun

By presence of volunteer army,

Who could only hold

Part of the vast building complex;

As a British response
Came from Richmond Barracks.

These British being themselves Irish,

Had expected a riot

Situation, but found themselves

In a gun battle - after

A mach to Unions St James entrance,

Three men were hit -

A running hospital battle ensured.

Some Irish regiment entered by

Rialto Gate, that came

Under rapid fire - about buildings

And dormitories, close

Fighting occurred  - in chaos one

Volunteer fell to ground,

A nurse rushed outside to help.

Margaret Keogh leant over

The man, as firing

Continued - a fatal shot cut

Down the nurse.

In the battle the volunteers

Retreated, to the

Three storey nurses home.

WIth the initial fight reaching

A point with rebels

Entrenched in the Union corner,

The Irish regiment

Were ordered back to barracks -

Men, already stressed 
In their return from fights in France.

by Jamie Mann.

Source: File: First Day of the Easter Rising From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Online. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Day_of_the_Easter_Rising> [Accessed 24 April 2016]

Source: File: Easter Rising 1916: Six days of armed struggle that changed Irish and British history. Online. Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35873316> [Accessed 24 April 2016]

Source: File: Easter Rising From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Online. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising> [Accessed 24 April 2016]

Source: File: Easter Rising. Online. Available at: <http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/easter-rising> [Accessed 24 April 2016]

Source: File: The 1916 Easter Rising. Online. Available at: <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ireland-1845-to-1922/the-1916-easter-rising/> [Accessed 24 April 2016]

Source: File: The Battle for the South Dublin Union 1916 by Paul O'Brien Author, Irish Military Historian. Online. Available at: <http://www.paulobrienauthor.ie/436-2/> [Accessed 24 April 2016]

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 24 April 2016). 

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