0:00:04 > 0:00:07- Fire! - GUNFIRE
0:00:07 > 0:00:10WOMAN: In the very early morning of the 3rd of May,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I am awakened with the sound of firing.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16My heart sinks, METALLIC CLICKING
0:00:16 > 0:00:19for I know the first of the executions has begun.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23- MAN:- The men with memories of our losses
0:00:23 > 0:00:25seem to have no qualms as to doing the job.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Pity to dirty all these rifles.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Why can't we do him in with a bit of bayonet practice?
0:00:33 > 0:00:37- MAN:- The second, PH Pierce, whistled as he came out of the cell.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The firing squad of 12 men are waiting.
0:00:45 > 0:00:52Another soldier awaits, to pin a piece of white paper over his heart.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- MAN:- The firing party placed ten paces distant.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01A silent signal from the officer.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06A deafening volley.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07GUNFIRE
0:01:09 > 0:01:12The rebel dropped to the ground like an empty sack.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16For many mornings to come,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20we shall awake to that close noise of rifle firing.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28All our experiences now seem to be those of a dream.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Everything that has passed in the last 12 days
0:01:32 > 0:01:33now has the impression of unreality.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36And I suppose it will be days before
0:01:36 > 0:01:39these incidences and events attain their true perspective.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45This is the story of the year that changed Ireland,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48told in the words of those who lived through it.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:02:15 > 0:02:18As 1916 dawned, Europe's superpowers had
0:02:18 > 0:02:21fought themselves to a standstill
0:02:21 > 0:02:24on the killing grounds of northern France and Belgium.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29On New Year's Eve, they turned on to three whole battalions of ours
0:02:29 > 0:02:31a perfectly hellish bombardment
0:02:31 > 0:02:32of all kinds of stuff.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Everybody was standing to arms,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37fingering rifles and gas helmets,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40waiting to see the Hun come over his parapet.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42The fire was so intense.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45A war that many had hoped would last just months
0:02:45 > 0:02:48was now in its second blood-soaked year.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51I am very well, but, of course,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54like everyone who has been out any time,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56tired of it all.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Irish men from all corners of the island had joined up,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14some, idealistically, to support the freedom of small nations,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17some for adventure, and others simply for a job.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21By 1916, the Allied forces were steeling themselves
0:03:21 > 0:03:24for an all-out assault to try and break the stalemate that
0:03:24 > 0:03:27had already cost the lives of thousands of soldiers.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30That winter, Irish men were scattered
0:03:30 > 0:03:32all along the Western Front.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- MAN:- There are more casualties a mile or two behind the trenches
0:03:37 > 0:03:38than in the firing line.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42One does not get used to men being killed close by.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Despite the slaughter, and with little sign of progress in France,
0:03:49 > 0:03:51support for the war remained firm.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Britain appeared calm and prosperous.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03At the start of 1916, you had universal support for the war.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05There was full employment
0:04:05 > 0:04:08in the munitions factories, in the shipyards, in the mills,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10producing shells for the war effort.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16A lot of men, of course, join up into the British Army,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18so it opens up more and more jobs for people.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22You are starting to see an economic boom in Ireland,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and people doing quite well out of big war production.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30We were living in an overwhelmingly hostile atmosphere,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32surrounded by a jingoistic war spirit
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and a population that had gone off the rails with wartime prosperity.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39It was an orgy of big wages and spending,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41of fur coats and jewellery,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and heavy drinking.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Ireland is the great bread basket of the British Empire,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49so there is this sense of, "Oh, what a lovely war."
0:04:51 > 0:04:52Unless it impacts on your own family.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59News was coming back from the front of appalling conditions,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01of dreadful deaths from the Western Front
0:05:01 > 0:05:02and from Gallipoli,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and people were starting to see wounded soldiers in the streets.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09It was coming home to people that the war
0:05:09 > 0:05:10was not going to be short
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and that the consequences of it were terrible.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Fear of conscription was growing.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21In backrooms and snugs throughout Ireland, support for the war
0:05:21 > 0:05:22was festering.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25A secret group of militant Republican separatists
0:05:25 > 0:05:27were determined to exploit this.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29They wanted to undermine support for Britain
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and provoke a revolution.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34They wanted full independence for Ireland.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37They had resurrected the old Fenian mantra
0:05:37 > 0:05:40that England's difficulty was Ireland's opportunity
0:05:40 > 0:05:44and, by Easter 1916, they were ready to strike in Dublin -
0:05:44 > 0:05:46the second city and heart of the British Empire.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Liberty Hall, the eve of the rebellion.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57An air of great activity throughout the building.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00After supper, madam, while handling her revolver,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03lets it off accidently.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05"Fortunately, there is no-one between herself
0:06:05 > 0:06:08"and the dining room door, which is pierced with a shot."
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Winifred Carney was a trade unionist from Belfast.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16We have her own account of the Easter Rising,
0:06:16 > 0:06:21written some years after the events, probably from notes.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23And, very importantly, we have this telegram.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It's a key historical document on the Rising
0:06:26 > 0:06:30because it's a telegram from James Connolly in Dublin,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34dated 14th April 1916, to Miss Winifred Carney
0:06:34 > 0:06:37of Two Carlisle Circus.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41"Extremely anxious, you should come afternoon train. Connolly."
0:06:41 > 0:06:45She had been summoned to the GPO to join the insurgence
0:06:45 > 0:06:49on that Easter weekend in 1916.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53James Connolly honoured me with his trust and confidence,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55in a way he did with no other person.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03Winifred's mother and my grandfather were brother and sister.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07She trained as a secretary cum typist
0:07:07 > 0:07:09and it was through that work that
0:07:09 > 0:07:12she joined the Irish Transport Union.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16It was through that then that she met James Connolly.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Connolly would tell Winifred everything
0:07:20 > 0:07:25that was happening and she probably knew everything
0:07:25 > 0:07:29about what was going to happen in the Easter week.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35"I was in close personal contact and consultation with
0:07:35 > 0:07:37"General James Connolly..."
0:07:37 > 0:07:41..during all the stages leading to and during Easter Week.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49On Friday, and especially on Saturday,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51I was seeing a great number of volunteers
0:07:51 > 0:07:53approaching the sacraments,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57acting under order, as they said.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Gradually, I became suspicious that there might be
0:08:01 > 0:08:04more than appeared on the surface.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08I remember going to bed that night
0:08:08 > 0:08:11dreading what the morrow might bring.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17The rebels' plan was to strike when Britain
0:08:17 > 0:08:20was at its most vulnerable, with its army strewn
0:08:20 > 0:08:23all over the Western Front, preparing for a major offensive
0:08:23 > 0:08:25on the battlefields of the Somme.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32This is the psychological moment. They must redeem
0:08:32 > 0:08:36the soul of Ireland now or lose their national identity forever.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Two years earlier, the eruption of the Great War
0:08:51 > 0:08:52had changed everything.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58In 1914, we get the outbreak of World War One,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02which has a huge effect on the country over
0:09:02 > 0:09:04the four years of its duration.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The great global conflict eclipsed the storm clouds
0:09:08 > 0:09:11gathering in Ireland over the battle for Home Rule.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15In 1913/1914, Ireland was on the tipping point of civil war
0:09:15 > 0:09:18over this issue of Home Rule.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Up to that, the majority of the population,
0:09:20 > 0:09:21the Nationalist population,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23were staunch Home Rulers.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Under Home Rule, Ireland would remain part of the United Kingdom
0:09:26 > 0:09:28and British Empire,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30but it would have its own devolved parliament.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33The Irish Parliamentary Party, led by John Redmond,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37had made a kind of a deal with the Liberal government
0:09:37 > 0:09:43to ensure that their desire for Home Rule - a Dublin parliament -
0:09:43 > 0:09:44would come to pass.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47This awoke anger and fear in Unionists.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51They had always been opposed in recent decades
0:09:51 > 0:09:53to the idea of a Dublin parliament.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Here, in this very house, Craigavon House,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11off the Circular Road in east Belfast,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14this would have been the epicentre of the opposition
0:10:14 > 0:10:16to Home Rule.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23This building, which has decayed, sadly now, but still has
0:10:23 > 0:10:25many ghosts walking the corridors.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31In the years leading up to 1914, there had been rallies
0:10:31 > 0:10:35in the grounds, there had been tens of thousands of men and women
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and children who'd walked from the streets of Belfast
0:10:38 > 0:10:41in order to hear Sir Edward Carson speak
0:10:41 > 0:10:47and to offer his determination to resist Home Rule at all costs.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49My name is Jack Christie.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55I was born on 10th February 1898.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59The Liberals had promised to bring in a Home Rule bill,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03much against our wishes.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Sir Edward Carson spurred the Unionist movement
0:11:05 > 0:11:09into action, pledging to use all means that may be found necessary
0:11:09 > 0:11:11to oppose Home Rule.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed -
0:11:15 > 0:11:18a militia made up of 100,000 men who had signed
0:11:18 > 0:11:21the Ulster Covenant a few months earlier.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29I had the feeling that something dreadful would happen
0:11:29 > 0:11:31if Home Rule came in.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34There was great excitement and tension
0:11:34 > 0:11:36that everyone felt.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40The Ulster Volunteers had been established,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42the Ulster Covenant had been signed, threatening to use force
0:11:42 > 0:11:45if Home Rule were to be imposed.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Well, first of all, I was in the Ulster Volunteers.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51We had a number of instructors came over from England
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and they were really surprised at how well drilled we were.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Ulster had opened a revolutionary door in 1912,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03which Irish Republicans were determined to keep ajar.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06And so they welcomed the UVF, it was like manna from heaven
0:12:06 > 0:12:08to this tiny movement.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Nationalists set up their own militia - the Irish Volunteers -
0:12:13 > 0:12:16to resist the UVF and ensure the British didn't renege
0:12:16 > 0:12:18on their promise of Home Rule.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Eoin MacNeill, a Northerner from the glens of Antrim,
0:12:23 > 0:12:28inspired the movement with an article in November 1913,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31which he called The North Began, praising the UVF
0:12:31 > 0:12:35as the greatest step towards defying British parliament,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37the British Empire, since the days of Wolfe Tone.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Despite fierce opposition in Ulster, by 1914
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Home Rule was set to become law.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50The bill was passing through parliament and the Unionists
0:12:50 > 0:12:52feared that the British government was preparing to quash
0:12:52 > 0:12:54their resistance.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59The UVF were playing a dangerous game.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03In certain parts of Ulster, the Ulster Volunteer Force
0:13:03 > 0:13:08was contemplating putting up a serious show of resistance
0:13:08 > 0:13:11against the police, against the army, if need be,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and, certainly, against the Nationalists.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18The Larne gunrunning of 22nd of April 1914
0:13:18 > 0:13:21changes everything.
0:13:21 > 0:13:2535,000 German guns distributed round the province of Ulster.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Sophisticated weaponry, including machine-guns.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Now, Carson's army has military dominance in Ireland.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35There's even a threat to the forces of the Crown.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And there's a lot of talk about treason.
0:13:40 > 0:13:46The Ulster Volunteer Force looks like it's engaging in treachery,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48clearly to import guns from Germany..
0:13:49 > 0:13:52..and to arm a militia.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55It looks rather strange.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59They were prepared to break the law in 1912
0:13:59 > 0:14:01and smuggle guns into the country openly
0:14:01 > 0:14:04with the agreement of the British government
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and absolutely defied democracy.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Not to be outgunned, the Irish Volunteers
0:14:09 > 0:14:13imported 900 German Mauser rifles into Howth.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Transporting the weapons into Dublin,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18they were confronted by an Army unit.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Three civilians were shot dead.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25The Nationalists draw the conclusion that it's kid gloves for unionism
0:14:25 > 0:14:27and lead bullets for nationalism.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32Yes, the lads of Ulster in 1914 were ready to fight.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35We were the Ulster Volunteer Force of Carson's army.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42These two armies, gearing up, being egged on, really.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46And so by July 1914, on the very eve of the Great War,
0:14:46 > 0:14:51Ulster, Ireland, these islands are on the very brink of civil war.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55But little did we think
0:14:55 > 0:14:58we were drilling to fight not our own countrymen...
0:14:58 > 0:15:00but the Germans.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05On 4th August 1914, the Great War broke out...
0:15:06 > 0:15:10..overnight dissolving fears of a civil war in Ireland.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12BOMBS DROP
0:15:12 > 0:15:14War clouds in the air.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Depression in Belfast.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18We were ready for war.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Our only fear now was would England need the Ulster Volunteer Force?
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Eager to prove their loyalty to king and country,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Carson urged the UVF to enlist.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Of the 100,000 men in its ranks,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34around one fifth of its strength joined up
0:15:34 > 0:15:38and would serve in the 36th Ulster Division and other units.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47- MAN:- I gave my age to the recruitment officers, 19.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51I was tall.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53There was quite a lot of us were only 17.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57It's about a sacrifice for the Empire.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01And in a way it's about saying,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03"Yes, we may have looked like traitors
0:16:03 > 0:16:05"in the months before the war."
0:16:05 > 0:16:08"Our critics may have looked at us and said,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11" 'What are you doing fighting Britain to stay British?' "
0:16:12 > 0:16:14But this was the answer -
0:16:14 > 0:16:18"We are prepared to die for the cause."
0:16:19 > 0:16:22With Home Rule now on the statute books but suspended
0:16:22 > 0:16:26until after the war, Redmond called on the Irish Volunteers to join up.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Thousands heeded his call and enlisted in the Army.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32They felt they were redeeming the soul of Ireland
0:16:32 > 0:16:34on the battlefields of Europe.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36They were winning British goodwill, they hoped,
0:16:36 > 0:16:38for the achievement of an all-Ireland settlement
0:16:38 > 0:16:39after the war.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45But a small group of Volunteers doubted the sincerity
0:16:45 > 0:16:48of the British Government and refused to join the Army.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56No more than about ten or 11,000 split away.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58They remained loyal to their old allegiance.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59They're still led by MacNeill
0:16:59 > 0:17:03and they keep the legal name - the Irish Volunteers.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04But deep within the movement,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07a tiny splinter group of militant republicans had little
0:17:07 > 0:17:11regard for the implementation of Home Rule or MacNeill.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16They're a minority of a minority within the republican movement.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18And they're hatching this conspiracy
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and telling others on a need-to-know basis.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Britain was seen to be very much tied up now in a world war,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27busy, would have its eye off the ball.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29They remained loyal to their old allegiance.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Their plan was to stage a rebellion, starting in Dublin but supported
0:17:37 > 0:17:39by Volunteers throughout the country,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41with one notable exception - the North.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I suggested we would have to attack the RIC barracks
0:17:46 > 0:17:49on our way through to secure the arms we required.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Connolly got quite cross at this suggestion and almost shouted at me,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56"You will fire no shot in Ulster."
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Connolly would have been convinced from his, you know,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03trade union activities, trying to, if you like,
0:18:03 > 0:18:08reconcile orange and green in a very sectarian situation before 1916,
0:18:08 > 0:18:13that the danger of a sectarian conflagration was very real.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17James Connolly had also been aware of the presence still
0:18:17 > 0:18:19of the Ulster Volunteer Force
0:18:19 > 0:18:20with its armouries...
0:18:22 > 0:18:23..and with its trained men.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25They're there
0:18:25 > 0:18:27and they haven't gone away.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29There was that sense that,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32don't disturb the gossamer-thin tranquillity
0:18:32 > 0:18:33that prevailed in the North.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39And he added, "If we win through, we will then deal with Ulster."
0:18:43 > 0:18:45With the Ulster problem now sidelined,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48their plans for a rising were falling into place.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53Roger Casement, the knight who had served the British Empire with distinction,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56had become disillusioned with imperialism
0:18:56 > 0:18:58and had committed to the rebel cause.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02He was now in Germany, securing weapons from Britain's arch enemy.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07The rebels had also convinced Eoin MacNeill to support
0:19:07 > 0:19:10a nationwide mobilisation of Volunteers on Easter Sunday.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14And with Britain engaged in a desperate struggle
0:19:14 > 0:19:16for survival on the Western front,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20England's difficulty had now become Ireland's opportunity.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30SOUND OF LOADING GUNS
0:19:30 > 0:19:34It was on Saturday morning that I heard the news of our first defeat.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35A defeat before we had begun.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47The landing of German guns in Kerry had gone horribly wrong.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Roger Casement, who had been their emissary in Germany
0:19:50 > 0:19:52has been captured on a beach in Kerry also.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55They realise that Dublin Castle are now going to start to round them up.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Hearing of Casement's arrest, Eoin MacNeill realised he had been duped.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Then, for the first time,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09I learned by Pearse's admission that the rising was intended.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I told him I would use every means in my power,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15except informing the government, to prevent the rising.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20He said I was powerless to do so. I immediately gave orders.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26MacNeill carried out his threat and issued a countermanding order.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29He then placed an advert in a Sunday newspaper.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34"Mobilisation of Volunteers called off by Eoin MacNeill.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38"Excitement intense. The crisis is near."
0:20:42 > 0:20:44As I came out of church on Easter morning,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48I saw placards everywhere to this effect.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50No Volunteer manoeuvres today.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Things have gone badly wrong.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Eoin MacNeill's countermanding order
0:20:59 > 0:21:02has gone forth to the provinces,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05sowing confusion, dissension, disillusionment.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09By such an order, many others believed
0:21:09 > 0:21:11he delivered to the executioner,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13the flower of Ireland's heart and brain.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The plans for a rising on Easter Sunday were now in tatters.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38The Bureau of Military History recorded nearly 36,000 pages
0:21:38 > 0:21:43of first-hand accounts of what took place between 1913 and 1921.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46There was a number of individuals that were identified as being
0:21:46 > 0:21:48key participants in the revolutionary period.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Not just the military action but also members of the clergy,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57members of the civilian population.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00It's a history of military, social, political
0:22:00 > 0:22:03and economical conditions at the time.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Witness statement 286 by Mrs Nora Connelly O'Brien.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Her identity is daughter of James Connolly.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12She's also identified as the officer commanding
0:22:12 > 0:22:16Betsy Gray Sluagh, Fianna Eireann, Belfast 1912
0:22:16 > 0:22:17and officer commanding...
0:22:17 > 0:22:21I said to my father, "Why are we not going to fight?"
0:22:21 > 0:22:25He sat up in the bed, the tears ran down his face.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30"If we don't fight now," he said, "the only thing we can do
0:22:30 > 0:22:34"is to pray for an earthquake to come and swallow us up.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36"And our shame."
0:22:38 > 0:22:42In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Dominus...
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Early on Easter Sunday morning,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52the leaders of the secret military council convened in Liberty Hall.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57They knew they needed to act quickly or they would risk arrest.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01By late afternoon, they had reached a decision.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06The rising would go ahead, but on the following day - Easter Monday.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12In their minds, there's almost a ticking clock.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14There's a real rush to kind of make a stand.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17None of us believed it had any prospect of success,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20it was merely a declaration in arms,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22which would take place, to show that there was a
0:23:22 > 0:23:26body of men in Ireland who wanted separation and we'd fight for it.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Clarke, MacDermott, Pearse, fall back on the Dublin plan.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34They will have a more limited rising,
0:23:34 > 0:23:40with all the hallmarks of a blood sacrifice, in the Irish capital.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43It was important that the revolution occurred in Dublin
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and that it was successful in Dublin, in the rebels' minds.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Dublin is a loyal city. Union Jacks everywhere.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Recruiting signs everywhere. It's the nerve centre.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59They hope that, by their personal sacrifice,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03they will give their cause its elixir of life.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08At four o'clock, the Citizen Army mobilised in front
0:24:08 > 0:24:11of Liberty Hall and Connolly addressed them.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12"You are now under arms.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14"You will not lay down your arms
0:24:14 > 0:24:18"until you have struck a blow for Ireland."
0:24:18 > 0:24:21The men cheered. Shots were fired into the air.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24James Connolly said smilingly,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27"This is the proclamation of the Republic."
0:24:30 > 0:24:32It was still wet from the press
0:24:32 > 0:24:36and we all read it with wildly beating hearts.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40GRAMOPHONE RECORD PLAYS
0:24:48 > 0:24:51# You cheer soldier Tommy... #
0:24:51 > 0:24:54The morning dawned bright and fair.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57And being a general holiday, I felt glad.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00That promised to be a very fine day.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03# But while you are cheering the heroes... #
0:25:03 > 0:25:06At the start of the week, Columbus and the other priests were very
0:25:06 > 0:25:09tired because they had just come out of a particularly busy Easter.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Humanly speaking,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14they were probably hoping for a little bit of rest, you know,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16not too much activity,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19just a gentle week to reflect on what happened at Easter.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22So he was probably looking towards that.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Father Columbus Murphy was a Capuchin Friar
0:25:24 > 0:25:27here on Church Street. His narrative is extremely important
0:25:27 > 0:25:31because it lay undiscovered in the archives for 50 years.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33It was only found in 2002.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38The document itself is quite extensive, it's 42 pages long.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40It's contemporary, as well,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43it was only written 14 weeks after the rising, in July 1916.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48As I was going to Father Matthew Hall, I met
0:25:48 > 0:25:50a captain in the Volunteers.
0:25:51 > 0:25:57Naturally, I was surprised to see him in uniform. I asked what was on.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02He replied, that the following order was sent out.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08"Full arms and equipment and one-day's rations.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10"Thomas MacDonagh, Commandant."
0:26:12 > 0:26:15I was sent on my bicycle to scout about the city and report
0:26:15 > 0:26:20if troops from any of the barracks were stirring. They were not.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I went off with two other officers.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24We passed St Stephen's Green,
0:26:24 > 0:26:26where there were great signs of activity,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30green uniformed figures being at the gates and all over the place.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34We said, "The volunteers are having a field day today." They were.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36MacNeill's countermanding order meant that
0:26:36 > 0:26:39most of the volunteers did not turn up.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Only 1,600 appeared for duty in Dublin during Easter week.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Emergency mobilisation. Excited and hurried movements.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Producing a revolver from the table, Pearse loaded it
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and handed it to me. "We strike at noon!"
0:26:56 > 0:26:59The plan was to take the city by holding a defensive
0:26:59 > 0:27:02crescent of strongpoints, beginning with the GPO.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07We muster outside the hall, in front and rear of us, armed Volunteers.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16At last, all the men were standing ready, awaiting the signal.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18In every part of Dublin,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22similar small groups were waiting for the hour to strike.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Volunteers marched from Liberty Hall to Sackville Street, the main
0:27:26 > 0:27:30thoroughfare in Dublin. Their target was the GPO.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34This ensured the rebellion would be observed by thousands of Dubliners.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Inside the post office, it was business as usual, because even
0:27:41 > 0:27:44though it was a bank holiday, the post office never closed, because
0:27:44 > 0:27:48it was the hub of communications for the whole of the country.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Mr Hamilton Norway was Secretary of the Post Office in Ireland.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57The city bore its usual aspect that Monday morning.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01I was still in the midst of my first letter when my telephone rang.
0:28:01 > 0:28:07And Sir Matthew Nathan spoke, asking me to go up to the castle.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11I locked my desk and gave the key of my room to the porter,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15who was the only person on duty, the day being a bank holiday,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19and left, saying I should be back in half an hour.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22CLOCK CHIMES
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Shortly after midday,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30there would have been a little bit of a commotion outside.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Connelly giving the order and we quickly march inside.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37Heads would have turned to the side to look at this.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40He directs the volunteers to clear out the staff and customers,
0:28:40 > 0:28:41which they quickly do.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45They probably didn't think there was anything too serious at first.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48I get behind the counter, behind the nice new brass railings,
0:28:48 > 0:28:53where only a few short moments ago stood an unsuspecting
0:28:53 > 0:28:56solemn-faced official selling postage stamps.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01But then there was an air of definite menace, I suppose.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05I place my typewriter and Webley on the counter.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- NORWAY:- The office was rushed 20 minutes after I had left it.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15My room being appropriated for the rebel headquarters.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Under Connelly's directions,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Volunteers proceeded to smash the windows on the ground floor
0:29:22 > 0:29:24and to partly bank the opening with mail bags.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30On the initial first day, of course, the defences were prepared.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35So these windows here and the door, these were all sandbagged
0:29:35 > 0:29:38and buttressed,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42sometimes with ledgers that the clerks might have been using here.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47Any sort of stuff that could be used as protection against bullets
0:29:47 > 0:29:50and the onslaught that they thought was going to come.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53The rebels, declaring themselves without opposition,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55ranged at will about the city.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00Seizing one important building after another and posting
0:30:00 > 0:30:04their proclamation of the Irish Republic wherever they would.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10The proclamation is read by Padraig Pearse at the General Post Office.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13It sets out the aims, if you like, of the revolutionaries.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15This was very much what they believed in
0:30:15 > 0:30:18and it was their statement to the world.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21A Republic had been declared and whatever was going to
0:30:21 > 0:30:23happen during Easter week was going to happen.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25There was no turning back.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31In the handsome building of the General Post Office,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34which I had left so short a while before,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36the Union Jack was hauled down
0:30:36 > 0:30:41and the green flag of the Irish Republic floated in its place.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45The revolution had begun.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55The rebellion was spreading.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58Thomas MacDonagh had taken Jacob's Biscuit Factory,
0:30:58 > 0:31:00de Valera had taken Boland's mill.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Connelly and Pearse were joined in the GPO by commander-in-chief
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Tom Clarke, Sean MacDermott and Joseph Plunkett.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Other strategic buildings were also seized.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Trouble, I was prepared for.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21Yes, a clash with the police or even with the soldiers was possible.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27But a rebellion, let me admit
0:31:27 > 0:31:30that the very thought never entered my head.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36No-one is expecting a rising in Dublin in 1916.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41Remember, Dublin is the capital of Ireland in 1916.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Dublin Castle is where the police are based,
0:31:43 > 0:31:47where British intelligence are based, where the Chief Secretary is based.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50And so, when the rising breaks out, it takes all Ireland
0:31:50 > 0:31:54and indeed the British government, by surprise.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56We know this from many accounts.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00My dear Willie, I do not know when you will receive this,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03but while events are still red hot, I want to give you a slight
0:32:03 > 0:32:06impression of the state of things here.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10James Mitchell, a UVF man, 38 years old,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13a lecturer in Belfast Technical College, motored to
0:32:13 > 0:32:18Dublin on Easter Saturday, 1916, to join the British Army.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20I became a soldier of the King on Easter Sunday.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Since then, we've been through some experiences.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31And he would spend the next week watching
0:32:31 > 0:32:35the rising from the blockaded Gresham Hotel, as mayhem
0:32:35 > 0:32:38and smoke and explosions surrounded him.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42All of the windows and doors of the hotel are now barricaded.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45We're practically prisoners in this building.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48The rifles and the machine-guns are busy with it
0:32:48 > 0:32:52and I can hear the phit-phit of bullets singing through the air.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Two horses lay dead, their soldier riders having been shot dead
0:32:55 > 0:32:59and carried into the hotel. Human blood covered the footway.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Military and police were confined to barracks
0:33:01 > 0:33:05and the mob had complete possession of the thoroughfare.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09What I know is that I got a damn fine reception in the Army.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13People are appalled at the utter unpreparedness of the government
0:33:13 > 0:33:17in the face of a huge body of trained and armed men.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19The authorities in Dublin Castle
0:33:19 > 0:33:21really did not think there was going to be a rebellion.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24There was almost a naivete to it all and it does come as a huge surprise
0:33:24 > 0:33:26to the Dublin population
0:33:26 > 0:33:29but also to the British authorities in Dublin Castle,
0:33:29 > 0:33:30it is a huge shock.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33As the rising broke out, the British had just 400 battle-ready troops
0:33:33 > 0:33:37to confront roughly 1,000 insurgents.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40The Irish regiments based in Dublin in 1916 are all getting
0:33:40 > 0:33:43ready for what we now know as the Battle of the Somme.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45So they have joined up for King and country, following the
0:33:45 > 0:33:48nationalist politicians, who have encouraged them to join up.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52And suddenly they find themselves fighting fellow Irishman.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55GUNFIRE
0:33:57 > 0:34:0026th of April, 1916, Dublin.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Dear Mother, I arrived here on Monday evening, fairly late,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09and immediately took refuge in the nearest military barracks.
0:34:09 > 0:34:15This is a series of letters from my uncle, Jack Carrothers,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18who was in the Royal Inniskillings.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21In searching through them, I discovered one letter
0:34:21 > 0:34:25in particular, when he was coming home on leave,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28on 26th April, 1916.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34Actually, he had landed into Dublin the day
0:34:34 > 0:34:37the rising or the rebellion broke out.
0:34:37 > 0:34:43And he recorded every day, a 19-page letter,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46of what he's seen from Dublin Castle.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52"The Sinn Feiners are kicking up a fearful dust..."
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Military law was declared this morning.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56I'm stuck here in the Ship Street Barracks
0:34:56 > 0:34:59and, like all the other officers and men,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02I'm living on biscuits and bully beef.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04I will hardly be allowed to leave these barracks
0:35:04 > 0:35:05until the hostilities cease.
0:35:08 > 0:35:09By Monday evening,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12British reinforcements were pouring in from all over Ireland
0:35:12 > 0:35:16and preparations were being made in England for sending many more over.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20In the North, a handful of Volunteers were determined
0:35:20 > 0:35:22to go south to join the rising.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27I carried a six-inch revolver on my journey.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Unfortunately, I was...
0:35:29 > 0:35:30..not stopped by the police.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Number 53 Glengarriff Parade, the house where my grandfather
0:35:37 > 0:35:40stayed the last night of his freedom.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44He stayed here after cycling down from Newry.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48I doubt if the people on the street realise the historical
0:35:48 > 0:35:53significance for the Rankin family this little house has.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58My grandfather was well-known as a kind of a quiet man
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and a gentle man.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04And yet there was this other side to him that he kept well hidden.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08When he died, I was handed this journal
0:36:08 > 0:36:12that Paddy had handwritten and it was his witness statement.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20I was brought before Tom Clarke.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23He thanked me for getting through to the GPO,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26but he would have been delighted and happy to have
0:36:26 > 0:36:31some hundreds of his own people from the northern counties present.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33The streets are by no means a healthy place to be
0:36:33 > 0:36:36with the Sinn Feiners always sniping from the roofs.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39My job was on the roof of the GPO.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43About one o'clock in the morning, a Dublin man, who was in charge of us,
0:36:43 > 0:36:46asked me to look out between the stone balustrades of the roof
0:36:46 > 0:36:51facing O'Connell Street and see if there was any enemy coming.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53I had only time to draw back to my position
0:36:53 > 0:36:57when a bullet grazed his ear and mine.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59It was a very near shave.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05There have been a large number of soldiers shot last night.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07Two snipers appeared at the chimney quite close
0:37:07 > 0:37:09and we opened rapid fire on them.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12One of them was only wounded and was brought in as a prisoner.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16His coat was covered with the blood and the brains of the other sniper.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21A sight like this soon puts the notion of war out of one's head.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27The wider response to the rising was condemnatory.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30People found it hard to go about their business.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33The streets are just not pleasant places to be.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37It's now got so dangerous that anybody putting their heads
0:37:37 > 0:37:40outside their door or window is probably going to be killed,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42be they civilian or a rebel.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47One or two people were in the street.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49And I happened to glance at a man in shirtsleeves.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51I heard a shot, drew back
0:37:51 > 0:37:55and immediately popped my head back to see the man fall.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57This is the first person that I've ever seen killed
0:37:57 > 0:38:00and my feelings may be imagined.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04There must be an enormous amount of people killed.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07For it's a fearful thing to fire even a rifle in a city,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09let alone machine-guns or artillery.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13As always in urban warfare,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16it's the civilians who die in larger numbers.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18The oldest person that we know of is 83 years old
0:38:18 > 0:38:21and the youngest is six months old.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24A baby named Foster was killed in its perambulator
0:38:24 > 0:38:27outside Matthew Hall.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31Alarmed by the firing outside, some had come to the door.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36And seeing the baby covered in blood,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40it is easy to picture the panic that ensued.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44There's a lot of grief and bereavement and loss
0:38:44 > 0:38:45going on in the city.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48And most of the people who were killed were poor.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50There were people from the tenements,
0:38:50 > 0:38:51some of whom came in to the city to loot.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Wherever I went in Dublin in the first day of the rebellion,
0:38:56 > 0:39:00I heard the strongest expressions of hatred
0:39:00 > 0:39:02for the Sinn Fein movement.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09The British moved quickly to isolate the rebel positions.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Lord Shaw tells me that 30,000 troops are landed at Kingstown
0:39:14 > 0:39:18this morning and we hear they're amazed at their reception.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22They had been told that they were
0:39:22 > 0:39:25going to quell a rebellion in Ireland.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28And, lo, on their arrival at Kingstown
0:39:28 > 0:39:30the whole population turned out to cheer them.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35The British are actually being welcomed as they arrive
0:39:35 > 0:39:40from Belfast and Dublin to crush the rising by loyal Irish Home Rulers
0:39:40 > 0:39:43and loyal Irish Unionists.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46You know, as they arrive in the city.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47Despite the influx of British troops
0:39:47 > 0:39:50and the widespread public hostility to the rebels,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52they continued to hold out.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57There was no-one to be seen anywhere.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59No sign of life.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04It was a weird sensation and feeling,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07as if we were in a city of the dead.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14The only noise was the sound of one's own footsteps
0:40:14 > 0:40:18and the incessant rumble of the firing.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26This is the fifth day of the establishment of the Irish Republic.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28And the flag of the country still floats from the most
0:40:28 > 0:40:31important buildings in Dublin.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34The British then brought heavy machine-guns and artillery to bear.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38At 8am we were awakened by a great rattling and roaring.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40I opened the window and looked out.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Sackville Street was enveloped in blue smoke.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49A gentleman called Brigadier-General Lowe is put in charge.
0:40:49 > 0:40:50They very, very quickly figure out
0:40:50 > 0:40:53that the GPO is the main headquarters.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56His main plan is to attack and destroy the General Post Office.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01We are hemmed in because the enemy feels that in this building
0:41:01 > 0:41:06is to be found the heart and inspiration of our great movement.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08A boat of some kind is at O'Connell Bridge
0:41:08 > 0:41:11and is evidently the cause of the loud reverberations.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15In support of their infantry attacks,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18the British brought a gunship, the Helga,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21up the River Liffey to bombard the rebel positions.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Directing operations outside, Connelly is wounded.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31He is brought in and placed in one of the beds
0:41:31 > 0:41:34in what we describe as the front-line trenches
0:41:34 > 0:41:37from where he directs operations.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41I feel irritable and ask him why he should have exposed himself
0:41:41 > 0:41:44to danger when so much depended on him.
0:41:46 > 0:41:52He replies, "Do not blame me now. I must take risks like the others."
0:41:53 > 0:41:55The British started to rain artillery
0:41:55 > 0:41:57and incendiary shells down on the GPO.
0:41:59 > 0:42:05I saw an ignited shell land on top of the General Post Office
0:42:05 > 0:42:07and burst into flames.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13Suddenly, we notice a small hole burning in the roof over our heads.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15The roof is not bombproof.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Soon, the whole roof is a sheet of flames.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Then, I go down to tell the news.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26The General Post Office is on fire.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Pearse asks me if I can find some paper that does not bear
0:42:35 > 0:42:38the imprint of His Majesty's Government.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Goodness.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Here it is.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51The actual instrument on which Winifred Carney
0:42:51 > 0:42:54typed James Connolly's orders at the end of Easter week.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59I searched the drawers.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Going upstairs, searching the desks throughout the different rooms.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08But I cannot find a single sheet of plain paper anywhere.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13And this typewriter came through that grime, that smoke,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15the shelling of the GPO.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20And it lay undiscovered really until this moment.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27The GPO was in flames and the rebels were soon to decide
0:43:27 > 0:43:29that, to avoid further deaths of civilians,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31they had no option but to surrender.
0:43:34 > 0:43:39It is tragedy in the extreme. We await our orders.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42No fear.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44No anything.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51The rebels evacuated the GPO.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57Pearse and the others would have made their way out
0:43:57 > 0:44:00through a door here that went into the sorting office
0:44:00 > 0:44:04and then on another few yards out into Henry Street
0:44:04 > 0:44:08and across into the maze of streets that was Moore Lane
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and Henry Place, around there.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13And that was the end of the 1916 Rising in the GPO.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28One had a splendid view of O'Connell Street.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35What an appalling sight met my gaze.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46There is great cheering now.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48We've just been told that the Sinn Feiners have tendered
0:44:48 > 0:44:50an unconditional surrender.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52I suppose the 18-pounder artillery
0:44:52 > 0:44:55put the fear of God into their hearts.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05They were openly blamed for the destruction of property wrought,
0:45:05 > 0:45:10the loss of life sustained and especially for the suffering
0:45:10 > 0:45:14and inconveniences put on the people as a whole.
0:45:17 > 0:45:21You have the mass surrender being marched past the poor of Dublin.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Winifred Carney remembers in her memoir a group of very poor women,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29their soldiers are fighting on the Western Front.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32Gaze at us in a frightened way and jeer.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34This is the undertow of Dublin.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Not a great deal of support.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39The women were allowed to follow our men to the barracks.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Shouting at the soldiers,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44"Use your rifles on them German so-and-sos."
0:45:44 > 0:45:46There's a sense of betrayal,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50but also a sense that these people have destroyed our beautiful city.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Dublin is certainly ruined.
0:45:54 > 0:45:55There is a heavy smell in the city.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00A smell of blood and corpses.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01I have seen enough of the horrors of war
0:46:01 > 0:46:04without going to France to see any more.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09Over the six days of fighting, almost 500 people were killed
0:46:09 > 0:46:12and 2,500 wounded.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Half of the people who died in 1916 were innocent civilians
0:46:16 > 0:46:19who had no interest whatever in dying for Ireland.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21And weren't asked, of course, either.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Just got shot or killed in other ways.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28So this was a very small group of people.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33It was even more searing for Nationalists in Belfast.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Look at the RIC reports, you know.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Nationalists saw it at a stab in the back.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40Unionists saw it as a stab in the back
0:46:40 > 0:46:44and a sample of what Home Rule would mean, if it ever came about.
0:46:44 > 0:46:49According to the Belfast police commissioner after the rising.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52Martial law was declared across the whole of Ireland
0:46:52 > 0:46:54as the British sought to regain control.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59For the British Army in particular, this is seen as a German operation.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02There is a feeling that the Irish Volunteers aren't trained
0:47:02 > 0:47:04well enough to fire on the British Army.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07And they're convinced that the Germans were in the GPO.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Of course, the arrival of a German spy ship
0:47:10 > 0:47:13with smuggled weapons adds to this theory.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15This is very much seen as treason.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19News of the rising had reached the front line in France.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Parcels and papers continue to arrive safely.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Though recently, they have been a good deal delayed,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28probably due to the Dublin trouble.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31That has been a most disgraceful business.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34Well, the news would have percolated through
0:47:34 > 0:47:37fairly swiftly to the Western Front.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43We know that some Germans placed placards up above the trenches
0:47:43 > 0:47:47indicating that a rising had taken place back in Dublin.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Any British soldier, no matter what his background,
0:47:50 > 0:47:55would have regarded what was going on in Dublin as a stab in the back.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57As a form of treachery.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02That shock, that sense of betrayal, sweeps the Western Front.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04A sense that they are being betrayed
0:48:04 > 0:48:08by a minority of pro-Germans at home.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12I do hope that a lot of the ringleaders will be shot.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13But doubt very much
0:48:13 > 0:48:15if the government will be firm enough to do so.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20The British appointed a military governor, General Maxwell,
0:48:20 > 0:48:21to restore order.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26Maxwell was a stern and determined man.
0:48:28 > 0:48:29He unbent a little
0:48:29 > 0:48:35and deplored the terrible loss of life and property that had occurred.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38"Oh, we'll make the beggars pay for it," he added.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Maxwell ordered widespread arrests and internments.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45The rebels were tried with few legal safeguards.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49"Please allow Father Murphy to interview Pearse,
0:48:49 > 0:48:54"the rebel leader, and any other rebels whom he may wish to see."
0:48:56 > 0:48:59This, in a sense, is a sort of an access-all-areas pass.
0:48:59 > 0:49:04The document tells not just the story in four or five lines,
0:49:04 > 0:49:08but it also tells an enormous story about what the priests
0:49:08 > 0:49:12were trying to do and the fact that they were available
0:49:12 > 0:49:17to the side of the British leadership to be honest brokers
0:49:17 > 0:49:20between the Army leadership and the Volunteers.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25This is one of the contemporary 1916 passes that were given to
0:49:25 > 0:49:27Father Columbus by British officers,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29allowing him to travel the streets of Dublin
0:49:29 > 0:49:33and also to minister to some of the rebel prisoners in Kilmainham Gaol.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46I remember well MacDonagh's first question.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51"What are they going to do to us, Father?"
0:49:53 > 0:50:00As much to encourage him and that that was my belief at the time,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04I answered, "Probably imprison the leaders and send the others home."
0:50:06 > 0:50:10"I hope to God they'll do no such thing," he said.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14"As we'd be the laughing stock of the country.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17"And all our work will be in vain."
0:50:18 > 0:50:22190 leaders within the Rising are put on trial
0:50:22 > 0:50:25and Maxwell decides to execute 90 of them.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Here I ventured to quote the old phrase
0:50:28 > 0:50:32about the blood of martyrs being the seed of martyrs.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35Little dreaming at the time of their prophetic import.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40"Are you backing them up?" he asked.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44Concluding that prudence was the better part of valour,
0:50:44 > 0:50:46I decided to say nothing further.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51Please tell the Franciscan fathers at Church Street
0:50:51 > 0:50:54that the two men they wish to see at Kilmainham Detention Prison
0:50:54 > 0:50:56should be seen by them tonight.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59General Maxwell was determined that the ringleaders,
0:50:59 > 0:51:03particularly the signatories of the proclamation, should be executed.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08There's an urgency in the friars being asked to come and minister
0:51:08 > 0:51:13to Pearse and Clarke because they're going to be executed at dawn.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15Tonight's the night.
0:51:15 > 0:51:16Not a moment to be lost.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23The executions began on the 3rd May 1916.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28I felt relief.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30And secretly exulted at the inglorious end
0:51:30 > 0:51:33of the creatures with such mean and selfish minds.
0:51:35 > 0:51:36Fire!
0:51:36 > 0:51:38GUNSHOTS
0:51:38 > 0:51:42As the executions grind on over those weeks in May,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44you can see things beginning to change.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50To my surprise, I found that the papers had the news.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53And blazoned forth its horror to the world.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59A thrill of horror and indignation
0:51:59 > 0:52:03and fierce resentment was pulsating through the city.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05It was seen as an overreaction.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Those who had been mocking the rebels,
0:52:08 > 0:52:13jeering them in the streets of Dublin, were converted
0:52:13 > 0:52:16to admiration of the rebels and support for their cause.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20It was a complete transmogrification of public opinion
0:52:20 > 0:52:23in the days and weeks after the rising.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Did they hope to beat the English Army and win through?
0:52:27 > 0:52:29No, I do not believe they did.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35Clarke, an old man, was not quite so fortunate.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39Requiring a bullet from an officer to complete the ghastly business.
0:52:39 > 0:52:40GUNSHOT
0:52:41 > 0:52:44The British authorities out in England very quickly realise that
0:52:44 > 0:52:48this is probably a huge mistake. And it is a huge mistake.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52Connolly was so badly wounded that he couldn't stand up to face
0:52:52 > 0:52:55the firing squad and was shot sitting in a chair.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00They must be below our cell window.
0:53:00 > 0:53:01It all sounds so near.
0:53:03 > 0:53:08The cell that Winifred was in was quite close to the yard
0:53:08 > 0:53:12where they executed the leaders, so she heard everything.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15She heard everything.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20James Connolly was the last to be executed on 12th May.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27By then 15 leaders had been shot and Maxwell was coming under pressure
0:53:27 > 0:53:30from Downing Street to avoid further inflaming public opinion.
0:53:31 > 0:53:37It is a horrible, ghastly, disgusting, sickening...
0:53:41 > 0:53:46The executions of course exerted a sea change throughout Ireland.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50It had that nauseating, transformative effect
0:53:50 > 0:53:52on the Irish Nationalist mind.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00The British commuted the remaining death sentences on the leaders
0:54:00 > 0:54:03and imposed prison sentences instead.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09And if England had treated them leniently,
0:54:09 > 0:54:11not with the same brutality,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14I am convinced that the Rising would have been a failure.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20That its true aim and object would not have been achieved.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26Maxwell seems to have misjudged the situation.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29The executions changed the dynamic in Ireland
0:54:29 > 0:54:32and changed Irish history forever.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Interestingly, Sir John Maxwell wrote to his wife during those
0:54:36 > 0:54:39weeks in May to say that if we, the British establishment,
0:54:39 > 0:54:42had taken a strong line against the Ulster Volunteer Force
0:54:42 > 0:54:46and nipped that particular rebellion in the bud,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48none of this would ever have happened.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54Yes, the soul of Ireland had awakened,
0:54:54 > 0:54:58as if by magic, at the noise of those bullets.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02In the aftermath of the Rising,
0:55:02 > 0:55:04public opinion shifted irrevocably.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07And within two years the minority voice
0:55:07 > 0:55:10clamouring for an Irish Republic became the majority.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Just seven weeks after the last execution in Dublin,
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Irish soldiers were preparing for an offensive
0:55:28 > 0:55:32which was supposed to break the deadlock on the Western Front.
0:55:32 > 0:55:33The Somme.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39Among the soldiers already in the trenches was George McBride.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Well, we went up into the trenches.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47There's men of an English regiment put in along with us
0:55:47 > 0:55:51to teach us all the little tricks of the trench.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55The hide and seek of the trench warfare.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59You must remember the trenches cover thousands of miles all over France.
0:56:02 > 0:56:07By mid-1916, Irish blood had been shed at home and in Europe.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Few realised that much worse lay ahead.
0:56:18 > 0:56:23In 1984, I came here to Craigavon House
0:56:23 > 0:56:26which was at that stage the UVF hospital.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33There was a man called George McBride and I was told that he
0:56:33 > 0:56:37would be very happy to talk to me about his experiences in the war.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43He had been one of those who had signed the Ulster Covenant,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47one of the men who had gone to the recruiting office to join up,
0:56:47 > 0:56:50he'd been in the 36th (Ulster) Division at the Somme.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54And then when the war was over he had been demobilised.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01But his verdict on that war was that it had pitted
0:57:01 > 0:57:05young men from working-class backgrounds against one other.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10The whole experience that he had had
0:57:10 > 0:57:12had devastated him.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15It had made him question so many things.
0:57:17 > 0:57:18I joined the Labour Party.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22I was dissatisfied with the social conditions
0:57:22 > 0:57:25under which people were living.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30Well, in the Labour Party I met a Miss Winifred Carney.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36I came from the Shankill Road and she was a Roman Catholic.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41And she fought in the Dublin rebellion.
0:57:41 > 0:57:43They had a happy marriage.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45A short one, perhaps,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49but an unlikely couple one might have thought
0:57:49 > 0:57:51who ended up together.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56They got on famously together
0:57:56 > 0:58:01and even though they had arguments over what happened in Easter week.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03But eventually they...
0:58:04 > 0:58:06..they agreed on certain things.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12She died long before him in 1943 and is buried in Milltown Cemetery.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19I know that towards the end of his life
0:58:19 > 0:58:23he grieved for Winnie as much as he grieved
0:58:23 > 0:58:28perhaps for the men that he might have killed on the Western front
0:58:28 > 0:58:29with his gun.
0:58:34 > 0:58:39George died in 1988 and is buried in an unmarked grave in Clandeboye.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44He was the man, George McBride, who preserved her documents,
0:58:44 > 0:58:46her paper and the typewriter
0:58:46 > 0:58:50on which she had hammered out Connolly's orders at the GPO.