Easter 1916

"Easter 1916"

The 1916 Easter Rebellion spoke to the heart of Irish nationalism and emerged to dominate nationalist accounts of the origin and evolution of the Irish State. The decision by a hand- full of Irish patriots to strike a blow for Irish independence mesmerized the Irish people in its violent intensity and splendor.

According to Richard Kearney, author of Myth and Terror, suddenly everything was dated 'Before or after Easter Week'. The subsequent executions of the sixteen rebel leaders by the British authorities marked an incredible transformation from Irish patriots to their martyrdom, which came to represent the high-water mark of redemptive violence, a glorious beginning and a bloody ending. The initial reaction in Ireland to the Rising was shock and anger.

Following the executions, the nationalist community closed ranks against the British government. The most famous reaction to the Rising is the poem "Easter 1916" by the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. In one respect, the poem is a product of its time and reflects the emotional impact of Easter Week. But, the power of Yeats's language and imagery transcends the event, and asks the question of all generations, "O when may it suffice?"

In 1916, the political climate in Ireland was dangerously volatile, but few Irish citizens realized they were at the edge of an abyss. Most nationalists, William Butler Yeats included, were content with a promise by the British government to grant Ireland moderate independence, in the form of Home Rule, at the close of World War I.

The Unionist population vowed to resist Home Rule and began organizing a heavily armed private militia. The Irish Diaspora and many Irish nationalists had little faith in the British government's willingness to install Home Rule and stand up to the unionists.

Preoccupied by the Great War and desperate for able bodies, the British government made its' fatal decision to enforce conscription in Ireland. Outcries by Irish republicans that Britain bore no right to 'Irish fodder' for their war canons, helped pave the way for an uprising. Rebel leaders from the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Irish Nationalist Volunteer Army, and James Connolly's Citizens Army decided the time was ripe for a rebellion and adopted a familiar concept in Irish history, 'England's trouble is Ireland's opportunity.'

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...ic immortalization of the leaders' blood sacrifice. The middle- class rebels whom Yeats held in such contempt, were responsible for all that was "utterly changed" and the "terrible beauty" that was born.

Twelve months before his death, Pearse spoke at the graveside of O'Donovan Rossa. Three-quarters of a century later, his immortalised words represent the heart of Irish republicanism: "life springs from death and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living waters...The fools, the fools, the fools, they have left us our Fenian dead and while Ireland holds these graves Ireland unfree shall never be at peace."

The executed patriots did indeed leave behind a legacy. The memory of their sacrifice continues to rise from their graves and inspire future generations to the cult of martyrdom.

"Now and in time to be,

Wherever green is worn,

Are changed, changed utterly:

A terrible beauty is born."

Works Cited

Allison, Johathan, ed. Yeats's Political Identities: Selected Essays. Ann Arbor: The

University of Michigan Press, 1996.

Unterecker, John. A Reader's Guide To William Butler Yeats. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974.