The document discusses the difficult choices faced by Irish nationalists during World War I, primarily whether to fight for Britain or assert their own independence. Key figures like John Redmond advocated for joining the British army, while others, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, pushed for resistance, culminating in the Easter Rising of 1916, which ultimately ended in military failure but sparked increased sympathy for the rebels. The aftermath involved the execution of rebel leaders by the British, which backfired and fueled further rebellion efforts led by figures such as Eamon Devalera and Michael Collins.

2. A difficult choice for nationalists…
OR

3. A difficult choice…
 Unionists had no problem volunteering to fight in World War 1
 Nationalists had a difficult choice to make….
 If Nationalists joined the British Army maybe Britain would be
impressed and grant Home Rule to Ireland… or maybe not?
 Or should we fight against Britain and suffer the consequences?
 John Redmond felt Nationalists should fight in the British Army
 Eoin MacNeill and others believed that Nationalists shouldn’t
fight for the freedom of other countries until their own was
free – these people were known as “Sinn Fein Volunteers”

4. “England’s difficulty is Ireland’s
Opportunity”
 Some in the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) felt that the
outbreak of World War One gave Ireland an opportunity
 Patrick Pearse was one person who felt that Ireland had a
good chance of winning a war with England
 Pearse was a fan of the Irish language and of Irish Culture – he
set up a Gaelscoil (St. Enda’s) in Rathfarnham and was involved
with the Gaelic League
 Ended up becoming a “PR man” for the Rebels

5. St. Enda’s (Pearse’s School) today

6. James Connolly Joins….
 Connolly was a socialist – normally socialists had little to do
with Nationalists
 However Connolly agreed to join the plans for the Rising
because he believed the World War One was going to end up
hurting the poor most
 Also hoped that an Irish Republic would be fairer than Ireland
under British Control

7. Fooling MacNeill
 Eoin MacNeill (Irish Volunteers Leader) was reluctant to fight
but Pearse and the other militants convinced him that the
British were about to arrest all the volunteers
 When O’Neill heard this, he ordered the volunteers to be
ready to fight on Easter Sunday, 1916

8. Weapons smuggling
 The volunteers had not enough arms to have a successful uprising
and hoped to smuggle some in from Germany
 A ship, the Aud was supposed to smuggle in weapons to Kerry but
was intercepted by the British Navy
 When Eoin MacNeill (Volunteer leader) saw this, he knew the Rising
had no chance of success and ordered a stop
 This messed up the plans of Pearse, Connolly and the other militants
but they decided to go ahead with the Rising on Easter Monday,
1916
 The Rebels hoped to inspire the Public and to set an example to
future generations – Pearse called this “Blood Sacrifice”

9. Fighting Breaks out…
 The Rebels marched out on Easter Monday morning and took
over many buildings in Dublin.
 Patrick Pearse stood outside the GPO and read out the
Proclamation of the Irish Republic which set out what the
rebels wanted to achieve
 British were taken by surprise but had overwhelming
firepower and the outcome was never in doubt
 Dublin City Centre badly damaged by the fighting (mostly by
British Artillery, Rebels had only rifles)

10. The “Proclaimation of the
Republic” – read out by Pearse
to Dubliners at the start of the
Rising

11. The GPO – easily taken over

12. Dublin Castle – untouched

13. Inside the GPO – can you spot
Pearse and Connolly?

14. Inside the GPO – can you spot
Pearse and Connolly?

15. Dublin bombarded – The Helga
The British used
gunboats and
artillery – the
Rebels had none
of these and were
outnumbered

16. 2012 Junior Cert

17. Response
 The British felt betrayed by the Rising – as they were fighting
the Germans the Irish had joined up to also attack them
 It was decided to execute all the ringleaders of the Rising in
order to discourage any further attempts at rebellion
 The ordinary people of Dublin were NOT happy with the rising
– the city was in ruins and many ordinary people had been
killed in the fighting
 Rising had ended in complete military failure
 But the story was not over yet…

18. Aftermath – a wrecked city.

19. Aftermath
 The British decision to execute all the Rebel leaders proved
to be a serious mistake
 Instead of frightening off the remaining rebels, all that
happened was that sympathy for the rebels increased
 Surviving rebels included Eamon DeValera and Michael
Collins, who would go on to play a major role in the next
stage of the campaign

20. Bullet holes from 1916 Easter
Rising today