Barb and Alan

We were so engrossed in our tour today, I didn’t take many pictures. But here’s what we learned:

Imagine being in the middle of Dublin on Easter Monday in 1916, just walking around like normal, and suddenly a group of Irish rebels shows up and takes over the General Post Office — literally just walks in, kicks everyone out, and plants a flag declaring Ireland is now a free republic.

Our guide, Adam, walked us around Dublin, sharing about the Easter Rising, and how it was one of the first major steps toward Irish independence.

We could even see bullet damage on the post office as he told us about Patrick Pearse, a poet and teacher, who read the “Proclamation of the Republic “ in front of the building. There were other leaders too, like James Connolly, who was more of a socialist and led this group called the Irish Citizen Army, and even Countess Markievicz, who was this badass aristocrat woman with a gun fighting alongside the men. In fact many women played key roles in the fight.

They had a group of about 1,200 rebels and held out in several buildings around Dublin — the General Post Office being the main Headquarters. But the British army didn’t exactly take it lightly. They sent in thousands of troops, artillery, and even shelled the city. After six days, the rebels had to surrender.

At first, most people in Ireland weren’t really on their side. They thought it was a bit reckless, especially with all the destruction. But when the British executed the leaders, public opinion totally flipped. People started to see them as martyrs.

We were surprised to hear Irish Americans played a huge role in all of this. There were guys in the U.S. like John Devoy who were sending money, and organizing weapons, Plus, the support from the Irish communities in places like New York and Boston — was massive. They kept the cause alive overseas. So even though the Rising itself was ended quickly, it lit the spark that eventually led to Irish independence a few years later.Läs mer