An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 13 Rule bill into law, suspend- ing it until after the end of the war, Redmond called on the Volunteers to join the British Army and serve "wherever the fighting line extends", in order to show loyalty to Britain and thereby ensure the introduction of Home Rule when the war was won. This led to a split in the Volunteers with the vast majority, approximately 175,000, following Redmond to form the Na- tional Volunteers. The remainder, around 11,000, contained the majority of more hardline republicans, and the departure of the IPP contingent swung the balance of power on the Provisional Council back heavily in favour of the IRB. After Redmond's departure the Volunteers adopted a new con- stitution and reorganised. A headquarters staff was appointed, comprising Eoin MacNeill (Chief of Staff), The O'Rahilly (Direc- tor of Arms), Thomas MacDonagh (Director of Training), Patrick Pearse (Director of Organisation), Bulmer Hobson (Quartermas- ter), and Joseph Plunkett (Director of Operations). These were later joined by Eamonn Ceannt (Director of Communications) and JJ O'Connell (Chief of Inspection). This reorganisation strengthened the IRB's hold, as key positions were now held by peo- ple who were, or were soon to be, members of the IRB; Pearse, Ceannt, Plunkett, MacDonagh, and Hobson. In 1915, although led in name by others, the IRB was effectively under the control of Tom Clarke, a long-time IRB man who had served 15 years in jail for his part in a plot to blow up London Bridge as part of the Fenian dynamite campaign, and his protégé Seán MacDiarmada. Taking advantage of the situation presented by the ongoing European war and the IRB's domination of the Volunteers, Clarke and MacDiarmada established a Military Council within the IRB to move forward with concrete plans for rebellion. This council consisted of Clarke, MacDiarmada, Pearse, Plunkett, and Ceannt. (Mac- Donagh would be co-opted onto the council just before the Rising.) Of all the members of the Military Council, Pearse had the highest public profile, having given the graveside oration at the funeral of the Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in August 1915, which included the famous lines: "The fools, the fools, the fools! – They have left us our Fe- nian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace." Pearse was chosen by Clarke to be the spokesman for the Rising (although the military plan was mainly Plunkett's) and it was Pearse who issued the orders to all Volunteer units throughout the country for three days of manoeuvres beginning on Easter Sunday, which was the signal for a general uprising. When the Military Council found out in January 1916 that James Connolly was going to go ahead with an armed rebellion with his 300-strong Irish Citizen Army, they feared it would ruin their plans and so held a meeting with him at which he was co-opted onto the Military Council and agreed to join forces. In April Thomas MacDonagh was co-opted onto the Military Council and it was the seven members of the Council who signed the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, which Pearse read on the steps of the GPO. To get over MacNeill's opposition to armed rebellion he was presented with a letter, the Castle Document, which purported to show the authorities were preparing to move against the Volun- teer leadership. (This was an actual plan but had been doctored by Plunkett to make it appear imminent.) When he was informed of the plans for rebellion and the arrival of a large shipment of guns on the Aud, he reluctantly agreed to go along with the insurrection. However, when MacNeill found out about Casement's capture and the loss of the weapons, he moved to prevent the uprising by countermanding Pearse's mobilisation order for the Volunteers. The members of the Military Council held an emergency meeting at which they decided to go ahead with the rising on the Easter Monday, and orders were sent out to remobilise the next morning. However, the confusion meant that many of the Volunteers had already returned home and the turnout the next day was far below what the rebel leaders had allowed for in their planning. The reduced chances of success were unlikely to have influ- enced the men who had planned the rebellion as most of them believed it would only ever be the first step and that a sacrificial rising would be the catalyst that would lead to Ireland's eventual freedom. Although none of them lived to see it, history subse- quently proved the accuracy of their foresight. Irish War News, Volume 1, No. 1, Dublin, Tuesday 25th April 1916. When the GPO was occupied on Easter Monday, Patrick Pearse set about organising the printing of a newspaper announcing the rebellion to the people. Photos: Dublin Diocesan Archives/South Dublin Libraries A reproduced copy of the Proclamation of the new Irish Republic.

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