An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 32 | P hotographs taken in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising show a burned-out city centre, large parts of which had been devastated by the fires that started and spread during the fighting. A combination of fires started by looters and military actions, including the use of artillery and the Volunteer tactic of 'mouse-holing' between buildings, all helped to create a major fire in the lower Sackville (O'Connell) Street/Abbey Street/Earl Street/Henry Street area. The 'mouse-holing' allowed fires to travel quickly between adjoin- ing buildings, while the use of artillery softened up buildings for the fires by blowing in doors and windows and loosening roof slates. It is often thought that incendiary shells were used but in fact such shells were not available at the time. The British 18-pounders were using a mix of solid shot and shrapnel rounds. Photos of buildings like Liberty Hall and Kelly's Fort show evidence of heavy artillery fire yet they didn't burn, while buildings on the Eden Quay side of the street were reduced to burned out shells by a rapidly spreading conflagration. Captain Thomas Purcell had been the chief of the Dublin Fire Bri- gade since 1892 and had developed the city fire service into a modern, well-equipped fire brigade, the equal of any. However, while the mas- sive fire enveloped central Dublin during the Rising the fire brigade was unable to operate due both to the danger of getting caught in the crossfire and to orders from the military not to respond to fires unless directed to do so. The brigade's ambulance service worked non-stop throughout the week but despite several appeals to be allowed to use their fire engines, it wasn't until the ceasefire and surrender that the brigade was able to muster its 45 men and get to work to prevent the further spread of fire. Dublin Fire Brigade also called for assistance from the in-house fire brigades in both Power's Whiskey Distillery and Guinness Brewery, each of which contributed a small crew, and set to work to contain and extinguish the main fires in the Henry Street and Moore Street areas as well as fires threatening Jervis Street Hospital. As part of his subsequent report on the Rising, Captain Purcell mapped the areas affected by the fires. His main map, of the city centre, has featured in a number of publications but the second map, showing the fires outside the Sackville Street area, has rarely been published. This map shows four separate and distinct fires. Each of them is linked to a story of the Rising. by LAS FALLON Interior of the destroyed GPO in May 1916. Photo: Dutch National Archives/ Spaarnestad Photo/Collection Het Leven - Het Leven (Life Illustrated) was a Dutch weekly magazine published between 1906 and 1941. Fire brigade searches for items of value in the rubble after the Easter Rising, May 1916. Photo: Dutch National Archives/Spaarnestad Photo/Collection Het Leven

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