Easter Rising (1916)

On Easter Monday 1916, seven men, mostly members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) led the a rebellion against British rule in Ireland. The men are the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation, which declared an independent Irish Republic. The uprising was quickly suppressed by the British Army whose brutal tactics created an intense nationalist fervor. The seven men responsible—Tom Clarke, James Connolly, Patrick Pearse, Eamonn Ceannt, Sean MacDiarmada, Thomas MacDonagh, and Joseph Mary Plunkett—were executed; as a result, these men have been remembered as martyrs and Fathers of Irish Nationalism. The rising was a watershed moment in Irish history, paving the way to the War of Independence. [1]

[1] “The Irish Revolution Project,” University College Cork, Ireland, accessed March 10, 2026, https://www.ucc.ie/en/theirishrevolution/collections/the-story-of-1916/chapter-3-the-leaders-of-the-1916-rising/#:~:text=The%20Easter%20Rising%20was%20planned,signatories%20of%20the%201916%20Proclamation.