Danny+Watson


 * Danny Watson **

The question of this historical investigation is ** to what extent did the Easter Rising of 1916 lead to the formation IRA? ** This question will be researched rigorously by chronologically explaining the events, and the repercussions of said events, and how they led to the eventual formation of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). This historical investigation will analyze the period of time starting with the Easter Rising of 1916, and continue until the beginning of the Anglo-Irish War (1919).
 * A) **** Plan of Investigation **


 * B) **** Summary of Evidence **

The Easter Rising




 * Easter Monday, at 11:00 a.m., 1,000 patriots of Ireland led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, assembled at prearranged points in the City of Dublin. The General Post Office served as the headquarters of the rebellion. There weren’t heated skirmishes on the first day, and most vantage points were taken with little or no resistance[|[1]]
 * At the time of the rebellion, there had just been 400 British soldiers garrisoned in Dublin, so their priorities were to gain reinforcements[|[2]]
 * 4,500 British soldiers attacked and successfully gained a vantage pint in Dublin Castle. But when they attempted to fight the rebels in street battles, their attacks were tactically inadequate, and were successive. They lost 234 men, whereas the rebels lost 5 men[|[3]]
 * By Friday, the 1,600 rebels (more joined throughout the action of the rising) were now greatly overwhelmed by roughly 20,000 British soldiers. Such overwhelming odds led the leaders of the rebellion to evacuate their vantage points and accept unconditional surrender[|[4]]
 * The Rising claimed the lives of 450 people, 2,614 were injured, and 9 were missing[|[5]]

Causes of the Rising


 * Given the context of the beginning of WWI, Irish were recruited to serve in the British military. However, tensions were increased in this because Protestants were allowed to form their own Irish Companies, while the Catholics were not. This really added to the tension of the growing hate between Ulster (Northern Ireland), and the rest of Ireland[|[6]]
 * There were a few Men who remained loyal to Britain and wished to cooperate with Britain in hopes of creating a peaceful Union following the War[|[7]]
 * One of these men was named John Redmon. John Redmon volunteered the services of the Irish Volunteers (who would later be the major striking force for the rebels during the Rising). But the Ulsterites refused to cooperate with Redmon, and the hopes of a peaceful union few far away. Hopes of Home Rule (An autonomous Ireland) seemed even further. [|[8]]
 * On the Good Friday before the rebellion, Martial Law was declared on the city and county of Dublin, after a German ship landed on the coast of Ireland carrying arms and ammunition. The British Government quickly confiscated the arms and arrested Sir Roger Casement, who was responsible for the landing of the ship. The suspension of the right of a British Subject to be tried by a civil court illustrated the danger of the situation. The Martial Law was the last the Irish Patriots could take[|[9]]

Formation of the IRA




 * Immediately following the, 15 men (including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly) were condemned and shot[|[10]]
 * Another reign of Martial Law descended upon Ireland, with Major-General Sir John Maxwell as the appointed leader of it all[|[11]]
 * Maxwell’s gung-ho methods of crushing any militant suspicion in the country led to the mass arrests of 3,430 men and 79 women, 1,841 of which were deported to England and interned
 * At first, many Irish had been opposed the rising. Those Irish who served the British military saw the rebellion as a bitter betrayal[|[12]]. But as Martial Law led to harsh oppression, and the executed men, who orchestrated the Rising, were raised to a level of martyrdom
 * The formation of the IRA in all this madness, was a forgone conclusion. After Sinn Fein won the election in 1918, they declared an Irish free state. War was soon to come, and Sinn Fein’s military arm, the IRA, was sure to following in the ensuing bloodshed[|[13]]

The Anglo-Irish War
 * Britain’s attempts at quelling the ever increasing Irish resistance, was met with guerilla warfare by the IRA
 * Finally, in 1921, both British and Irish governments decided on the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Which created a free Irish state for the Catholics, but Britain kept Ulster under it’s control[1]
 * With conclusion of the Anglo-Irish war, the IRA had solidified themselves as the military arm of Sinn Fein.


 * C) Evaluation of Sources **

"Easter Rebellion." //World History: The Modern Era//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2012.

This article is done by the online encyclopedia ABC CLIO, and ABC CLIO is a well respected, award winning online source “ With a 55+-year legacy of excellence and innovation, the company’s well-respected publishing imprints provide students, teachers, and scholars in history, humanities, language arts disciplines and international security with an award-winning lineup of databases, print reference and resource books, and eBooks”(Gale Virtual Reference Library). This article gave a very brief summary of the Easter Rebellion of 1916, and discussed the effects it had on the Irish and British people of the era. It also discussed the main leaders of the rebellion, and the organizations that the leaders belonged to. The article gave me information that I didn’t have before reading it. It discussed exactly what I didn’t know about the topic: The leaders, the organizations that were involved in the rebellion, the effects of the rebellion itself, and some of the intricacies of the rebellion itself. Some of the effects being the execution of the leaders of the rebellion, elevated them to martyrdom status. The limitations of this article include an overall lack of intricate detail. While it does do it’s job of providing the reader with a brief summary of the event, it doesn’t discuss the effects of the rebellion to a further extent.

"The Anglo-Irish War." //BBC News//. BBC. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. .

The British Broadcasting Corporation produced this article. The purpose of this article is to inform the reader on the Anglo-Irish War and give adequate detail into the intricacies. This article gave me the proper knowledge of the fact that this was the IRA’s kickoff, as in it was the first time they acted against British Rule in an organized manner under the name of the “IRA”. The article, however, doesn’t venture the intricacies of the causes of the Anglo-Irish war, which ultimately, would lead to the creation of the IRA.

"The Executions." //BBC News//. BBC. Web. 09 Mar. 2012. .

The British Broadcasting Corporation produced this article. The purpose of the article is to give specific information about the aftermath of the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916, and to reflect on how the executions of the leaders of the rising led to the majority of Ireland supporting the cause of the IRA. This article was a great help because it illustrates how badly the British Government handled the aftermath of the Easter Rising, and how their repercussions ultimately led to the formation of the IRA. This articles limitations were that it doesn’t discuss the formation of Sinn Féin, the political arm of the IRA.


 * D) Analysis **

“Ireland unfree shall never be at peace” Patrick Pearse said in 1915 [1], ironically one year prior to a war that would continue on through the century. Historically, Ireland has always been occupied by other nations and has never been a full autonomic country (in reference to ruling the whole of the Island that is Ireland). It is difficult to come to a clear conclusion whether or not the IRA would’ve formed with or without the Easter Rising. However, one might come to the conclusion that the Easter Rising catalyzed the formation of the political party Sinn Fein, and ultimately, the IRA.

One direct affect of the rising was the martial law that claimed Ireland. The harsh martial law that was placed on Ireland after the rebellion caused great unrest among Irish, and a great amount of disgust at the number arrested and executed for “suspicious military actions”. Initially, the Irish population had been against the rebellion. However, as the dust settled after the rebellion, British martial law really only changed the minds of the Irish population, and then bitterness and anger against the rebellion changed to bitterness and anger against the British. This hatred was then personified into a determined fighting force called the Irish Republican Army. The IRA.


 * E) Conclusion **

A few Irishmen rebelled against powerful and harsh British Empire in 1916. They were crushed after holding out for a week against overwhelming odds. After the rebellion, Martial Law was placed on Ireland. There was great civil unrest and resentment at this Martial Law. The IRA and political party Sinn Fein rose out of this era to start the Anglo-Irish war, and to help create the Free Irish State after the signing of the Anglo-Irish treaty at the conclusion of the war. One could argue that the IRA would’ve formed without the Rising, or that the Rising was essential to the formation of the IRA. But history has already been written, and it would be invalid to make an assumption that confides in either side.

[1] "Easter Rising 1916 Ireland." // Easter Rising 1916 Ireland //. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. .

[1] "Ireland & the War - Effects of 1916." //Remembering the Great War//. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. .

[|[1]] "Easter Rising 1916 Ireland." //Easter Rising 1916 Ireland//. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. .

[|[2]] Ibid [|[3]] Ibid [|[4]] Ibid [|[5]] Ibid [|[6]] Ibid [|[7]] Ibid [|[8]] Ibid [|[9]] Ibid [|[10]] // BBC News //. BBC. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. . [|[11]] Ibid [|[12]] Ibid [|[13]] // BBC News //. BBC. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. .

Source #1: "Easter Rebellion." //World History: The Modern Era//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2012.

__ Origin __ : This article is done by the online encyclopedia ABC CLIO, and ABC CLIO is a well respected, award winning online source “ With a 55+-year legacy of excellence and innovation, the company’s well-respected publishing imprints provide students, teachers, and scholars in history, humanities, language arts disciplines and international security with an award-winning lineup of databases, print reference and resource books, and eBooks”(Gale Virtual Reference Library).

__ Purpose __ : This article gave a very brief summary of the Easter Rebellion of 1916, and discussed the effects it had on the Irish and British people of the era. It also discussed the main leaders of the rebellion, and the organizations that the leaders belonged to.

__ Value __ : The article gave me information that I didn’t have before reading it. It discussed exactly what I didn’t know about the topic: The leaders, the organizations that were involved in the rebellion, the effects of the rebellion itself, and some of the intricacies of the rebellion itself. Some of the effects being the execution of the leaders of the rebellion, elevated them to martyrdom status.

__ Limitations __ : The limitations of this article include an overall lack of detail. While it does do it’s job of providing the reader with a brief summary of the event, it doesn’t discuss the effects of the rebellion to

Source #2: Article: Ireland &The War- Affects of 1916

"Ireland & the War - Effects of 1916." //Remembering the Great War - The Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association//. Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. .

__ Origin __ : The Article comes from an online archive of WWI information, called the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association. This title refers to an Irish regiment in the British military, formed in 1881. This source uses primary sources of events and gives an overview without leaving the necessary intricacies that give the article an engaging and in depth read through.

__ Purpose __ : The purpose of the article is to inform the reader about the after affects the Easter Rebellion of 1916 had on the native Irish, and the Irish regiments serving in the British military during the time of WWI.

__ Value __ : This article helped me in the sense that it educated me on the afermath of the rebellion and how badly the British government handled the situation. The Irish weren’t fond of public execution, and the British Government executed 16 of the condemned 90 men involved in the rebellion (however, there were near some 1,000 patriots involved). The repercussions of the actions taken by the British Government led to widespread resentment.

__ Limitations __ : This article doesn’t go into further depth of how the executions led to a period of Guerilla warfare, which would eventually lead to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921

Source #3 Article: The Anglo-Irish War "The Anglo-Irish War." //BBC News//. BBC. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. .

__ Origin __ : The British Broadcasting Corporation produced this article

__ Purpose __ : The purpose of this article is to inform the reader on the Anglo-Irish War and give adequate detail into the intricacies.

__ Value __ : This article gave me the proper knowledge of the fact that this was the IRA’s kickoff, as in it was the first time they acted against British Rule in an organized manner under the name of the “IRA”.

__ Limitations __ : The article doesn’t venture the intricacies of the causes of the Anglo-Irish war, which ultimately, would lead to the creation of the IRA.

Source #4

Article: The Executions

"The Executions." //BBC News//. BBC. Web. 09 Mar. 2012. .

__Origin__: The British Broadcasting Corporation produced this article.

__Purpose__: The purpose of the article is to give specific information about the aftermath of the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916, and to reflect on how the executions of the leaders of the rising led to the majority of Ireland supporting the cause of the IRA.

__Value__: This article was a great help because it illustrates how badly the British Government handled the aftermath of the Easter Rising, and how their repercussions ultimately led to the formation of the IRA.

__Limitations__: This articles limitations were that it doesn’t discuss the formation of Sinn Féin, the political arm of the IRA.