Patrick Pearse, leader of the Easter Rising

The Easter Rising of 1916 was led by Patrick Pearse (pictured above) and by James Connolly. When Pearse and Connolly were arrested after the failed rebellion, they were led away through jeering crowds. It was only after their execution that the city lurched to the defence of its martyrs.

James Connoly

500 people were killed in the Rising, many of them civilians caught in the crossfire, including 28 children. As Yeats put it in Easter 1916, “All changed, changed utterly: a terrible beauty is born.”

St. Stephen’s Green was the scene of fierce fighting during the Rising. The garrison led by Michael Mallin and Countess Markiewicz was stationed there, making the rebels easy targets for the British army.