REPUBLICAN POSITION

Republican Position between 1917-1919

Republican Position between 1917-1919

The Easter Uprising took place in April 1916 in Dublin and is one of the pivotal events in modern Irish history. At the end of the Easter Uprising, 15 men identified as leaders were executed at Kilmainham Jail. To some, these men were traitors, to others they became heroes. Why did a small group of people try to take on the military might of what was then one of the world's major powers?

From the time of the Great Famine from 1845 to 1847, certain sections of the Irish population had lost all faith in the British government (and even from before this date). These people felt that the government neither listened to the complaints and grievances of the Irish - nor did they care about such grievances. To them, the Irish had become second class citizens in the world's greatest empire builder. Any arguments presented to London about freeing up Ireland from British rule fell on seemingly deaf ears. The issue of Home Rule satisfied some in Ireland, but not all. It was this latter group of people who simply rejected that London had any right to impose any rule on Ireland. Their target was simple: Irish independence and the removal of all aspects of British rule from the island. As the British would be unwilling to simply go along with this, such independence would have to be fought for - hence the armed uprising..

As recently as the early 1970s, Republican leaders were prominent in their support of women's issues. The most notable one was President Richard Nixon. In an article for New York magazine, Frank Rich observed, "Nixon had a progressive GOP take for his time: He supported the Equal Rights Amendment, appointed an impressive number of talented women, and in 1972 signed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act to strengthen the policing of workplace discrimination." Yet Nixon's presidency also marked the end of support for women. Rich adds:

Ironically, though many in what is now the south wanted independence, they did not support the ways of movements such as the Fenians and the IRB. Given the population of Dublin and the surrounding area, comparatively few people took part in the rebellion. Even once it had started, few Dubliners took the opportunity to join the rebels. The evidence suggests that people were concerned about the tactics of known republicans such as Patrick Pearse and James Connolly - especially what the reaction of the British might be.

The IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood) had been formed in 1858. It was a secret organisation and it is thought that it never had more than 2,000 members in it. It had one simple desire - Irish independence. In 1910, the IRB started its own publication - the 'Irish Freedom' - and all those men who signed the proclamation of an Irish Republic in Easter 1916 were members of the IRB.

By the start of the war, Irish politics had become very complicated. The issue of Home Rule had led to ...