The Events Of Easter Week

As summarised by the Irish Times
“Sinn Fein Rebellion Handbook”, 1916.

Capture Of Sir Roger Casement

The Secretary of the Admiralty announces: During the period between p.m. April 20 and p.m. April 21 an attempt to land arms and ammunition in Ireland was made by a vessel under the guise of a neutral merchant ship, but in reality a German auxiliary, in conjunction with a German submarine. The auxiliary sank, and a number of prisoners were made, amongst whom was Sir Roger Casement.

Manoeuvres Cancelled

It was known that the Sinn Fein Volunteers were to hold Easter manoeuvres, which were to be taken part in by all the branches of the organisation in Ireland. These were unexpectedly cancelled in the following announcement signed by Mr. Eoin MacNeill on Saturday night, April 22, and published in the Sunday papers the following morning:

”Owing to the very critical position, all orders given to Irish Volunteers for to-morrow, Easter Sunday, are hereby rescinded, and no parades, marches, or other movements of Irish Volunteers will take place. Each individual Volunteer will obey this order strictly in every particular.”

With this announcement Mr. MacNeill ceased to take any public part in the proceedings of the Volunteers.

The Storm Breaks

On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, at noon, the storm burst in Dublin, and for the following six days the city and the suburbs were the scene of grave loss of life and destruction of property. The Irish (or Sinn Fein) Volunteers organised the revolution, and with the Citizen Army, Hibernian Rifles, and other bodies carried it out. The object of the movement, as stated in a proclamation issued on the day of the outbreak, was to “proclaim an Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State.”

Preparations for the insurrection had been active for months previously; large quantities of arms and ammunition were known to have arrived in Dublin, and an unusual activity in the way of “bluffing” the police had been going on. “Let sleeping dogs lie”, was the policy of the Executive authority, and no visible effort was made to deal with the situation that was developing in the city. Then came Easter Monday, when the nods of most people were directed to holiday-making. No one took more than a passing interest in the Sinn Fein Volunteers as they passed along the streets in twos and threes to their appointed positions. Twelve o’clock in the day was the hour fixed for the beginning of the operations, and at that time or shortly afterwards bodies of armed Sinn Feiners quietly entered the buildings to which they had been assigned, turned out the occupants, and took possession. Anyone who resisted was promptly shot. In this way the principal buildings in the city were captured, and the rebels at once set about erecting barricades, and taking precautions against attack.

The Central Fortress

The General Post Office in Sackville Street proved to be the central fortress of the rebels. It was here that P. H. Pearse, the “Commandant-in-Chief of the Army of the Republic and President of the Provisional Government”, made his headquarters and issued his orders. All corner houses commanding the approaches were garrisoned with snipers, who were hidden behind sandbags. Kelly’s ammunition shop at the corner of Bachelor’s Walk, and Hopkins’s jewellery shop at the corner of Eden quay, were held in this way in great strength. Other houses on each side of Lower Sackville Street, and particularly those at the four corners of Abbey Street, were garrisoned in like manner, and then the work of provisioning the various garrisons having the Post Ofhce as their centre was actively proceeded with, every variety of foodstuffs being commandeered at the point of the bayonet. All the telegraphic wires were cut, thus isolating the city from the rest of the country. The failure of the Volunteers to seize the Telephone Exchange in Crown Alley proved a great advantage to the military in dealing with the insurgents.

The proceedings at St. Stephen’s Green Park was somewhat similar. At midday small groups of Sinn Fein Volunteers were standing about the entrance gates, and at a given signal they quietly walked inside, closed the gates, posted armed guards at them, and then set about clearing all civilians out of the Park. In half an hour the Park was cleared of non-combatants. The next move of the rebels was to take possession of a number of houses commanding the approaches, and amongst the places occupied were the Royal College of Surgeons at the corner of York Street, and Little’s publichouse at the corner of Cuffe Street. The houses at other points were not so advantageously situated, but numerous snipers were placed in them.

Attempt On Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle, the headquarters of the Irish Executive, was attacked by a handful of Volunteers, and had any force of Sinn Feiners joined in the attack they would almost certainly have captured the Castle, as there were only a few soldiers on duty. A policeman on duty at the Upper Castle Yard was shot in cold blood, but the few soldiers came to the rescue and the invaders were driven off: Other bodies of rebels succeeded in taking possession of buildings overlooking the approaches to the Upper Castle Yard. In this way the offices of the Daily Express and Evening Mail were entered, and the staff were turned out at the point of the bayonet. The City Hall, the rear of which commands the offices of the Chief Secretary’s Department, the Prisons Board, and other Government offices, was also filled with snipers.

Simultaneously with these incidents, attempts were made to occupy the railway termini in the city. Westland Row Station and Harcourt Street Station were early in the possession of the rebels, and the rails on the Kingstown line were torn up at Lansdowne Road. The Harcourt Street Station was found unsuitable for defence, and was abandoned at three o’clock in the afternoon. Abortive attempts were made to secure Amiens Street Terminus, Kingsbridge Terminus, and Broadstone Terminus. Where they did not succeed in occupying the stations the rebels either attempted to blow up railway bridges or cut the lines, and nearly all the train communication with the city was stopped for a week.

Watching The Military

All the points in the city which were considered of strategical importance having been occupied by the rebels, their plans were further developed by the taking possession of positions controlling the approaches from military barracks. The Four Courts were early in their hands, and men were posted all over the building to attack troops which might approach along the quays from the direction of the Phoenix Park. The Four Courts Hotel, which adjoins the Courts, was garrisoned. On the bridges over the railway on the North Circular Road and Cabra Road strong barricades were erected. Liberty Hall was strongly held by the rebels, but the Custom House was left unmolested. Across the river, on the south side, Boland’s Mill was fortified in every possible manner, and constituted a stronghold of great strategical importance. Round by Northumberland Road, Pembroke Road, and Lansdowne Road, private houses were occupied and garrisoned to resist the approach of reinforcements for the military from the Kingstown direction.

Portobello Bridge, which commands the approach to the city from the military barracks at that place, was the scene of a short, but severe fight, shortly after midday on Monday. The rebels had taken possession of Davy’s publichouse, which is close to the bridge and faces the barracks. Their presence was disclosed at an early stage by an attempt to capture an officer who happened to be passing over the bridge. He fortunately escaped and gave the alarm. A small number of soldiers was turned out at once, but was unable to dislodge the rebels. Strong reinforcements were sent out, and after a short and sharp fight the publichouse was carried, and the military remained in possession afterwards.

A Workhouse As Fort

At more remote places in the southern suburbs rebels had taken up positions of defence, but strong cavalry patrols hunted them from point to point, and finally dispersed them, though not until many of the soldiers had been wounded. The South Dublin Union in James’s Street and a distillery in Marrowbone lane were two other strong points in the Sinn Fein plan. The workhouse was attacked by the military on Monday, and after a stiff fight, during which many casualties occurred on both sides, the remnant of the rebel garrison was driven into one part of thepremises, where they maintained their struggle until Sunday.

Jacob’s Biscuit Factory in Bishop Street, though it does not occupy a strategical position of any importance, was filled with foodstuffs of various descriptions, and probably in this respect it was deemed neccessary to instal in it a large garrison, so as to make certain that supplies would be available for the rebels in other places. If this was the idea it never had the slightest chance of succeeding, as the factory was early in the week surrounded by a military cordon.

The foregoing are outlines of the position on the evening of the first day of the rebellion. Several instances of non-combatants being shot by Sinn Feiners took place during the day in various parts of the city. The most shocking was the shooting down of several members of the Veterans Corps on Hadding-ton Road. A large muster of this corps had gone out on a route march to Ticknock, and when they were returning in the afternoon to their headquarters at Beggar’s Bush Barracks they were ambushed in Haddington road by a body of Sinn Feiners, who poured volleys of rifle shots into the ranks of the defenceless Veterans. Five were fatally, and many others seriously, wounded. The rest of the Veterans got to their barracks, where they had to remain until the following week.

Looting

On learning that several of his men had been shot by the rebels, the Chief Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police ordered the withdrawal from the streets of the entire uniformed force within an hour or two of the outbreak. The “underworld” of the city quickly realised their opportunity, and first tackled the shops in Lower Sackville Street. The windows were smashed, and hordes of people crowded into the shops, returning with bundles of wearing apparel of all descriptions. Noblett’s, at the corner of Earl Street, and Lemon’s, in Lower Sackville Street, were tit-bits for the younger section of the roughs, who made merry with boxes of chocolates, sweets, etc., all the afternoon. The toy shops were also centres of great activity, and then having exhausted Lower Sackville Street the crowd swept round into Earl Street and Henry Street, where they found an abundance and variety that suited every taste. Boys and girls were swaggering about, dressed in the most fantastic apparel, and all had their arms full of mechanical and other toys, hockey and golf sticks, and all kinds of articles used in popular pastimes.

Military Reinforcements

All through Monday night the military were hastily summoning reinforcements from the Curragh, Belfast, and England, and on Tuesday, April 25, these forces began to arrive in the city. Almost in every instance the soldiers could only be conveyed to within five or six miles of Dublin owing to the interruption of the railway communications, and the men had a long and exhausting march, carrying their full equipment, before they arrived at the barracks to which they had been posted. On the way they were sniped at by Sinn Feiners, and had to be continually on the alert to repel attack.

Meanwhile the available forces of the Crown had been engaged all Tuesday morning in conflict with the entrenched rebels, and many fiercely-contested engagements took place. At daybreak troops were posted in houses overlooking St. Stephen’s Green Park, and a raking fire was sprayed from machine guns all over the Park, while soldiers picked off’ every rebel who showed himself. They still, however, managed to hold the Park in much reduced numbers. Another body of troops surrounded Cork Hill, and a fierce struggle took place for the possession of the Daily Express building. Artillery was brought into play, and prepared the way for a charge. This was carried out in gallant style by a detachment of the 5th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, under Second Lieutenant F. O’Neill,a terrible fight taking place on the only staircase leading to the upper rooms. Many casualties took place at this stage. The military ultimately carried the position, and either killed or captured the garrison.

Artillery At Work

Later on Tuesday the positions occupied near Phibsborough were attacked. The barricades erected at the railway bridges on the North Circular and Cabra Roads were destroyed by gun fire, about forty casualties being reported and one hundred prisoners secured. These operations resulted in the whole of the North Circular road being in the hands of the military; the Sinn Feiners who escaped it ran for shelter in the direction of Glasnevin Cemetery. The military net was then drawn closer on the city from the North side, but no attempt was made that day to attack the rebels in their central “fortresses”.

More looting took place in the streets in the vicinity of Nelson’s Pillar. Messrs. Lawrence’s large photographic and toy emporium in Upper Sackville Street was one of the principal places cleared. The crowd of looters had matters all their own way for hours, and revelled in the destruction of the property. Some exciting scenes were witnessed when the fireworks were brought out and exploded. Rockets rushed up in the air and burst with a sound like a cannon, and all the smaller sorts of fireworks were thrown whizzing about amongst the crowd. Finally the premises were set on fire and burned to the ground.

Martial Law Proclaimed

Martial Law was proclaimed in Dublin City and County on Tuesday night, April 25. On Wednesday, 26, the position of affairs was worse than before. The Sinn Feiners had been driven to the wall, and were fighting with desperation. More troops, with artillery, were continually arriving in the city, and after a short rest they were brought into action, but they had to fight for every foot of ground they gained. For the most part it was an unseen foe with whom they had to contend. At eight o’clock on Wednesday morning the Admiralty steamer Helga came up the Liffey, and bombarded Liberty Hall, the headquarters of the Citizen Army. Owing to the Loop Line Bridge intervening between the ship and Liberty Hall, direct firing could not be brought to bear upon the building. The ship’s gunners, however, dropped shells on the hall, the roof and interior of which were destroyed by bursting shells, but the outer shell of the house was not much injured by fire. The garrison escaped before the bombardment commenced. Artillery brought from Trinity College into Tara Street also shelled Liberty Hall.

By the afternoon of Wednesday the military were in possession of Brunswick Street, and all the district between that thoroughfare and the river and right up to D’Olier Street. Sentries were placed at the entrance of a lane leading from D’Olier Street to the Theatre Royal. The soldiers had not been long there before one of the snipers in Kelly’s shop at the corner of Bachelor’s Walk shot one of them dead. The military then brought a nine-pounder gun into position at Trinity College, facing D’Olier Street, and bombarded Kelly’s corner. The appearance of artillery and the bombardment greatly alarmed the people who reside in the immediate vicinity. Kelly’s shop was riddled with shot, and the garrison had to evacuate the position. One peculiar effect of the gunfire was noticed afterwards. A shell struck an electric light standard at the corner, and bored a hole clean through the metal without bringing down the standard. Looting continued in the back streets all Wednesday, and in the evening several houses were set on fire.

The Great Conflagration

Bad as the previous day had been, the crisis reached its climax on Thursday and Friday. Artillery was brought into play at every point, and the air reverberated with nerve-wracking explosives. All day long the bombardment continued unceasingly, and each night the centre of the city was illuminated with great conflagrations. The Hotel Metropole and all that block of buildings for a long distance into Middle Abbey Street were burned down, including the Freeman’s Journal and Evening Telegraph offices, Messrs. Easons, Messrs. Manfields, and Messrs. Thom’s printing establishment. Then the General Post Office was given to the flames, and was destroyed – only the bare walls of this fine building remain. This particular fire extended down Henry Street as far as the large warehouse of Messrs. Arnott and Co., which remained intact, but was flooded with water. The Coliseum Theatre was also destroyed.

On the opposite side of Sackville Street all the shops were burned down from Hopkin’s corner at O’Connell Bridge right up to the Tramway Company’s offices at Cathedral Street. The fire extended backwards, and enveloped and destroyed almost all the houses between Eden Quay and Lower Abbey Street, down to Marlborough Street. These included the premises of the Royal Hibernian Academy, with its valuable collection of pictures, and the offices of the Irish Cyclist, while on the opposite side of Lower Abbey Street the branch of the Hibernian Bank, Mooney’s publichouse, “the Ship” publichouse, and Union Chapel were consumed in the flames. Round in Sackville Street the scarred skeletons of the D.B.C. restaurant and Clery’s Warehouse remained like sentinels in the midst of a scene of desolation that beggars description. The only bit of Lower Sackville Street left is the block of shops from Elvery’s Elephant House to O’Connell Bridge on the right-hand side looking from the Pillar. The two corner houses on this block, however, were seriously damaged, the one by artillery and the other (occupied by the Y.M.C.A. as a soldiers’ supper room), by fire.

The whole of Sackville Street, from the Pillar to O’Connell Bridge, was thickly strewn with debris.

The world famous O’Connell Statue is but little injured. Several of the figures have been pitted with bullets, and the figure of the Liberator served as a billet for many bullets, one of them drilling a hole just over the right side.

Collapse Of The Rebellion

On Saturday, April 29, P. H. Pearse, of St. Enda’s College, Rathfarnham, one of the leaders of the rebels, who had been described as the “President” of the Irish Republic, surrendered on their behalf to General Lowe at the Headquarters of the Military Command at Parkgate.

Unconditional Surrender

The following is a copy of the document signed by Pearse:

In order to prevent further slaughter of unarmed people and in the hope of saving the lives of our followers, now surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, members of the Provisional Government at present at headquarters have agreed to unconditional surrender, and the commanders of all units of the republican forces will order their followers to lay down their arms. (Signed) P.H. Pearse 29 day of April, 1916.

I agree to these conditions for the men only under my own command in the Moore Street district, and for the men in the Stephen’s Green Command.
April 29, 1916 (Signed) James Connolly

On consultation with Commandant Ceannt and other officers, I have decided to agree to unconditional surrender also. Thomas MacDonagh

Cease Fire

It was close on 4 o’clock on Saturday, April 29, when unexpectedly the order was given to the troops in the centre of the city to cease fire. and shortly afterwards it was officially announced that the rebel forces who held the General Post Office had decided to surrender unconditionally. What the “cease fire” imparted had been interpreted differently by different people and there was a general feeling of uncertainty on the point until the official statement lifted the matter out of the region of conjecture.

Courtsmartial were constituted, and the trials of the prisoners were proceeded with daily, until the principals had been sentenced, some to death, others to varying periods of penal servitude or imprisonment, while a large number of persons were arrested and deported to England.

A Scene Of Desolation

The revolution having ended, the streets in the central parts of the city on Monday became comparatively safe during daylight, the citizens displayed great anxiety to see for themselves some of the damage that had been done. Residents outside the military cordon on the North side of the city were rigorously excluded from passing through, and on the South side a similar restriction, but not quite so strict, was in force. Those who lived within the cordon were in no way hindered from moving about and viewing the wreck of their once fine city. The spectators appeared as if spellbound when they came into view of Sackville Street. Here and there a cloud of smoke rose from a smouldering ruin. Only a few blackened walls remained of the whole range of business houses on one side of the street between Nelson’s Pillar and O’Connell Bridge. On the other side of the street only the walls of the General Post Office remained, the Hotel Metropole was gone, and all the other business places from that point down to Elvery’s Elephant House were destroyed.

City Again Normal

By Wednesday, May 3, there were indications in almost every district that Dublin was returning to its normal condition. Shops and offices were opened in every street, and business seemed to be proceeding in the usual way. Except at a few points where “snipers” and suspected persons were supposed to be concealed in private houses there were very few soldiers on the streets, which were once more under the control of the Metropolitan Police. There were welcome signs of an improved condition of life in Dublin, and of returning activity in the various departments of business and commerce. Tram and train services were gradually extended, and the authorities urged employers and workers in all occupations to return to work.