by Today is the 109th anniversary of the Easter Rising which was an attempt at Irish independence. Begun on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, Irish patriots seized important buildings around the city of Dublin. It was organized by the Irish Republican Brotherhood and included other groups such as the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizens Army, and Cumann na mBan (Irishwomen’s Council). As you may guess, the British Army suppressed this armed attempt sooner than later. Most of the leaders of the revolt that survived were executed the next month.
A few years ago I found a small book by a retired US Army Lt. Col. which went into great detail on the firearms used by all sides in the event. Kieran McMullen was a Field Artillery officer and has a number of books out on firearms and other weapons used in the conflicts in Ireland during the first half of the 20th Century.
The weapons covered in this book range from Enfield and Mauser rifles to Vickers machine guns to pikes. It is very comprehensive in that it details which firearm or weapon was used by which group and in what part of the city of Dublin.
If you have an interest in weapons of this era or just want to know more about the Easter Rising, I can heartily recommend this book. Insofar as I know, you will need to email Col. McMullen at kilmainhamtales.us@gmail.com to order the book. If I remember correctly, the book cost about $15. I also purchased his Weapons of the Irish Civil War and Weapons of the Burning of the Customs House.
As an aside, with three grandparents born in Ireland it is fitting that my birthday and the date of Easter Rising coincide.
John Connolly of the Irish Citizens Army was a proper Marxist and convinced the others that the British would never use artillery inside of Dublin because of the property destruction. Oops.
Just for the sake of strict historical accuracy, I’m pretty sure you are referring to James Connolly and not John Connolly. James Connolly was more a syndicalist on the model of the Wobblies (he was an IWW member) and not a Marxist, per se. But, you are correct that it was his theory that the British would never use artillery.
Correct. My error.