'Ireland in Schools'
Nottingham Pilot Scheme
Ireland 1801-1921
Lesson plans, worksheets & other resources
Booklet 11a
Topic 10a: The Easter Rising (Lessons 29-31)
By
Gary Hillyard
Ashfield School, Kirkby-in-Ashfield
The following are available at http://journals.aol.co.uk/iis04/trials/entries/926:
this booklet in pdf format; and
a PowerPoint including the presentations and visual sources used in the topic.
School of Education, U. of Nottingham
Topic title: The Easter Rising/Rise of Sinn Fein
Lessons 29
Lesson title
Why did the Easter Rising take
place?
Aims:
• To look at the causes and
early planning of the Easter
Rising.
Starter
Reveal – work through the
questions on the OHT with
the pupils. Reveal the final
image and explain what it is –
the destruction caused by the
Easter Rising.
Main Activities
Students complete a scavenger hunt – they
have to come to the front and take the first
question and go back to their group where
they answer the question using the
information sheet they have been given.
Continue until one group answers all
question correctly.
Main Activities
Go through the description of what
happened. Read out the description as well
as completing the floor map of events whilst
you are going through.
Plenary
Feedback answers.
Materials
• w/b The Easter Rising.
• Scavenger Hunt cards
• Information sheet – The Easter Rising
– the Beginnings.
• OHT - Reveal
Lesson 30
Lesson title
What happened during the
Easter Rising?
Aims:
• To learn about the key
events of the Easter Rising.
Lesson 31
Lesson title
What was the impact of the
Easter Rising?
Aims:
• To examine sources as
pieces of evidence.
• To assess the impact of the
Easter Rising.
Starter
Work through the poem
Easter 1916 by Yeats – ask
about how he has used
emotion to explain his
feelings about why the event
took place and its impact.
Starter
Silent sentences – which will
give the immediate results of
the Easter Rising.
Plenary
Read the declaration made on
the steps of the GPO –
discuss the implications of
this.
Materials
• w/b The Easter Rising.
• Floor Map
• Outline of events teacher sheet.
• Teacher copy – Proclamation of
Independence.
Main Activities
Students examine the sources and use them
to fill out the table.
Plenary
Opinion continuum. Have
one end of the room being
success and the other being
failure. Students have to
stand on the line where they
think the Rising falls. They
must be prepared to state
why.
Materials
• w/b The Easter Rising.
• Silent sentences
Homework
Lesson 29: Continue with Unionist booklet.
Lessons 31-32: Last two pages of Easter Rising w/b - the development of the IRA. Read through the extractr and answer the questions.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 2
The Easter Rising workbook
A. The plan
1. Who planned the Easter Rising?
2. Who carried out the Easter Rising?
3. Who formed and led the Military
Council set up to plan the Easter Rising?
4. Name the four members of the
Military Council who were linked to both
the IRB and the Irish Volunteers.
5. What did Eoin MacNeill want to
avoid?
6. What did the Irish Volunteers want
by 1916 and how were they going to
achieve it?
7. Why did the rebels link with
Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army?
8. How did the rebellion try to disguises
its preparations?
9. What was MacNeill’s reaction to the
planned rebellion and what actions did
he take?
10. Where were the rebels supposed to
get their guns from (place and person)?
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 3
Lessons 29-31 - w/b (page 1)
Lessons 29-31 - Easter Rising w/b (page 2)
B. The events
Monday
24th April
Tuesday
25th April
Wednesday
26th April
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 4
Lessons 29-31 - Easter Rising w/b (page 3)
Thursday
27th April
Friday
28th April
Saturday
29th April
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 5
Lessons 29-31 - Easter Rising w/b (page 4)
C. The impact
i. The immediate impact
ii. The long-term impact
The Easter Rising was an absolute failure and served more to damage Irish
nationalism than to promote it!
Source
Provenance
How far does it support the
statement?
1
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 6
How reliable is the
source?
2
3
4
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 7
Sources: What was the impact of the Easter Rising?
Lessons 29-31 - Easter Rising w/b (page 6)
Source 1: From the Belfast correspondent, The Times, 1st May.
At 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon the Irish rebellion - an episode in Irish history which
all practical and sensible people in this country regard as the most inglorious and
disgraceful outbreak of organised rowdyism which ever sullied the annals of this country
- came to a sudden end.
Source 2: John Dillon, Home Rule MP, speaking in the House of Commons, 11 May 1916.
The great bulk of the population were not favourable to the insurrection, and the
insurgent themselves, who had confidently calculated on a rising of the people in their
support, were absolutely disappointed. They got no popular support whatever. What is
happening is that thousands of people in Dublin, who ten days ago were bitterly opposed
to the whole of the Sinn Fein movement and to the rebellion, are now becoming
infuriated against the government on account of these executions, and, as I am informed
by letters received this morning, that feeling is spreading throughout the country in a
most dangerous degree...
Source 3: A wall mural
commemorating the Easter Rising
in the Ardoyne area of Belfast,
Northern Ireland.
Source 4: C.S. Andrews, who witnessed the Rising and its aftermath.
The executions, which followed the defeat of the Volunteers, horrified the nation...The
first open manifestation of the deep public feeling aroused by the executions was at the
Month’s Mind for the dead leaders. A Month’s Mind is the Mass celebrated for the soul
of a relative or friend a month after his death. It was the first opportunity that
sympathisers of the rebels had to come out in the open. I went with my father to the
first Month’s Minds, which was for the brothers Pearse...I was surprised to see so many
well-dressed and obviously well-to-do people present...For us young people these Masses
were occasions for quite spontaneous demonstrations, shouting insults at the Dublin
Metropolitan Police who were always around but, having learned their lesson during the
1913 strike, were anxious to avoid trouble...
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 8
D. The development of the IRA
Lessons 29-31 - Easter Rising w/b (page 7)
Read the following extract from The Oxford Companion to Irish History, edited by S.J.
Connolly, OUP, 1998.
The rising of 1916 left the Irish Volunteers in disarray. However, the organisation was quickly
re-established on a wave of popular support, due to the events surrounding the rising and a
fear of conscription. The new leadership did not envisage starting another uprising for the
time being. At their first post-rising convention in October 1917 it was determined that the
Volunteers were primarily to be used to exert political pressure on the British government
to recognise the Irish Republic. For this aim the Volunteers were to arm, train and organise.
However, the public drilling exercises which started at the end of 1917, particularly in the
southwest, brought them into conflict with the authorities. The increasingly harsh measures
taken by the government during 1918 drove the organisation underground. The concurrent
success of the politicians in Sinn Fein made the militarists in the Volunteers feel left out,
and, without the sanction of their leadership, they began to take increasingly violent action
which slowly led to the start of the Anglo-Irish War.
After the foundation of Dail Eireann in January 1919 the organisation became increasingly
known as the Irish Republican Army, but also retained the name Irish Volunteers. This
highlighted the ambivalent relationship between individual Volunteer units and their military
and political leadership. Although now officially the army of the Republic, Volunteers never
fully accepted the central power of their GHQ established only in March 1918, or the political
control of the Dail government, despite swearing an oath of allegiance to it.
The IRA were unevenly distributed over the country. They attracted the largest membership
in the west, closely followed by Munster. Membership was limited in the more prosperous
east, and extremely low in Ulster, where the Volunteers were a largely marginal organisation
concentrated in a few small areas. Membership was young, aged mainly between 20 and 30,
and overwhelmingly Catholic. Volunteers were broadly representative of Irish Catholic male
society coming from most sectors of the working and middle classes, although rarely from the
upper middle or upper classes, and few were unemployed or indigent. Officers tended to be
older, more urban based, and of a higher status-better educated, more skilled, and financially
better off. In Dublin the majority of officers and men had working-class backgrounds. There
are clear changes in the composition of membership after the fighting started. The average
age of Volunteers decreased, and in the most active areas the rank and file became more
working class and urban, while officers became more middle class. The difference in
backgrounds which had existed between areas in the early period largely disappeared in
1920-1.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 9
Lessons 29-31 - Easter Rising w/b (page 8)
1.
Use a dictionary and your own brains to work out what the underlined words
and phrases mean:
a. conscription b. political pressure c. drove the organisation underground D. GHQ -
2. Use the information to complete the map below showing the spread of IRA
membership.
Large membership
More limited membership
Low membership
3. Why do you think the membership of
the IRA was much larger in the west than in the east and Ulster?
4. What problems do you think the independence of the IRA from its leadership
might cause in the future of Ireland?
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 10
Scavenger hunt cards
Lesson 29
Who planned the Easter
Rising and who carried it
out?
Who led the Military
Council and which members
of it were linked to both
the IRB and the
Volunteers?
What did Eoin MacNeill
want to avoid?
What did the Irish
Volunteers want by 1916
and how were they going to
achieve it?
Why did the rebels link
with Connolly's Irish
Citizen Army?
How did the rebellion try
to disguise its preparation?
What was MacNeill's
reaction to the planned
rebellion and what actions
did he take?
Where were the rebels
supposed to get their
weapons from?
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 11
The Easter Rising - the beginnings
Lesson 29 - information sheet
Planning the Rising
While the Easter Rising was for the most part carried out by
the Irish Volunteers, it was planned by the Irish Republican
Brotherhood (IRB). Shortly after the outbreak of World War
I in August 1914, the Supreme Council of the IRB met and,
under the old dictum that "England’s difficulty is Ireland’s
opportunity", decided to take action sometime before the
conclusion of the war.
To this end, the IRB’s
treasurer, Tom Clarke formed
a Military Council to plan the rising, initially
consisting of Patrick Pearse, Eamonn Ceannt, and
Joseph Plunkett, with himself and Sean MacDermott
added shortly thereafter. All of these were
members of both the IRB, and (with the exception
of Clarke) the Irish Volunteers. Since its inception
in 1913, they had gradually commandeered the
Volunteers, and had fellow IRB members elevated to
officer rank whenever possible; hence by 1916 a
large proportion of the Volunteer leadership were
devoted republicans in favour of physical force.
A notable exception was the
founder and Chief-of-Staff Eoin
MacNeill, who planned to use the
Volunteers as a bargaining tool with Britain following World War
I, and was opposed to any rebellion that stood little chance of
success. MacNeill approved of a rebellion only if the British
attempted to impose conscription on Ireland for the World War
or if they launched a campaign of repression against Irish
nationalist movements. In such a case he believed that an armed rebellion would have
mass support and a reasonable chance of success. MacNeill’s view was supported even
by some within the IRB, including Bulmer Hobson.
Nevertheless, the advocates of physical force within the IRB hoped either to win him
over to their side (through deceit if necessary) or bypass his command altogether.
They were ultimately unsuccessful with either plan.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 12
The plan encountered its first major hurdle when James Connolly, head of the Irish
Citizen Army, a group of armed socialist trade union men and women, completely
unaware of the IRB’s plans, threatened to initiate a rebellion on their own if other
parties refused to act. As the ICA was barely 200 strong, any action they might take
would result in a fiasco, and spoil the chance of a potentially successful rising by the
Volunteers. Thus the IRB leaders met with Connolly in January 1916 and convinced him
to join forces with them. They agreed to act together the following Easter.
In an effort to thwart informers, and, indeed, the Volunteers’ own leadership, early
in April Pearse issued orders for 3 days of "parades and manoeuvres" by the
Volunteers for Easter Sunday (which he had the authority to do, as Director of
Organization). The idea was that the true republicans within the organization
(particularly IRB members) would know exactly what this meant, while men such as
MacNeill and the British authorities in Dublin Castle would take it at face value.
However, MacNeill got wind of what was afoot
and threatened to "do everything possible short
of phoning Dublin Castle" to prevent the rising.
Although he was briefly convinced to go along
with some sort of action when MacDermott
revealed to him that a shipment of German arms
was about to land in County Kerry, planned by the
IRB in conjunction with Sir Roger Casement (who
ironically had just landed in Ireland in an effort
to stop the rising), the following day MacNeill
reverted to his original position when he found
out that the ship carrying the arms had been
scuttled. With the support of other leaders of
like mind, notably Bulmer Hobson and The
O’Rahilly, he issued a countermand to all
Volunteers, cancelling all actions for Sunday. This
only succeeded in putting the rising off for a day, although it greatly reduced the
number of men who turned out.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 13
Reveal 1
Lesson 29 - OHT
What are these two men doing?
Why are they here?
Does this change your impression of what they are doing?
Why are they here?
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 14
Reveal 2
Lesson 29 - OHT
So what has actually happened?
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 15
Floor map: the Rising in Dublin
Lesson 30
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 16
The Easter Rising - a six-day rebellion
Lesson 30 - teacher sheet
Monday 24th April
Easter Monday was a Bank Holiday. Just over a 1,000 Irish Volunteers march through the city. The
holiday crowds paid little attention as this was a common sight. The Dublin police had little warning
of the uprising and were unarmed, as they rarely carried weapons. Most of the rebels' targets were
seized without opposition. 2 remained elusive - the Phoenix Park arsenal, full of guns and ammunition,
and Dublin Castle were not taken. Pearse, Connolly and about 150 men including Plunkett and Collins
took the GPO. The South Dublin Union was taken and held by Ceannt; the Four Courts were taken by
Ned Daly and his 1st Battalion; Jacob's factory was seized by men under MacDonagh's command; St.
Stephen's Green was taken by Mallin and the Countess Markievicz and Boland's Mill was seized by De
Valera.
The first successful rebel defence occurred in Sackville Street, around an hour after the GPO had
been taken. British cavalry soldiers charged down the street towards the GPO. Four lancers and many
horses were killed. Little more fighting took place. The British Commander in Chief sent for
reinforcements whilst the rebels tried to fortify their positions.
Tuesday 25th
The British managed to declare martial law because rebels had begun to loot. They managed to
assemble over 6,500 troops as well as 13 and 18 pounder guns.
Wednesday 26th
The gunboat Helga steamed up the Liffey and bombarded Liberty Hall. However, this had been
evacuated and there were no casualties. Guns set up in Trinity College fired into Sackville Street. A
further 10,000 troops arrived. As they marched up the road from Kingstown they were ambushed by
De Valera's men and the rebels in St Stephen's Green. Although the British suffered heavy
casualties, the rebels were outnumbered and were forced back in the Royal College of Surgeons.
Dublin was now ablaze.
Thursday 27th
The South Dublin Union and Boland's Mill were attacked by British troops. However, both positions
held out. At the GPO conditions were not good. Connolly was hit twice and was unable to walk,
although he continued to give orders. A new Commander-in-Chief arrived, Sir John Maxwell. He
worked quickly to try and stamp out the rebellion, acting in a very heavy-handed way.
Friday 28th
The GPO was in serious trouble - heavily bombed, and burning from the top down. The O'Rahilly led
an assault in Moore Street to try and distract the British from the rebel evacuation of the building.
But it was defeated, and O'Rahilly amongst the 20 who died. The evacuation went ahead, with Connolly
being carried in a litter. The rebels crossed into a row of houses in Moore Street and tried to move
from house to house, yet there was constant heavy fire.
Saturday 29th
A meeting took place between Pearse, his brother Willie, Plunkett, Tom Clarke and Mac Diarmada.
Pearse tried to negotiate with the British, but the British wanted an unconditional surrender. Pearse
had no choice. After six days of fighting the rebels surrendered. De Valera was the last to surrender
arms.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 17
Proclamation of independence
Lesson 30 - teacher sheet
Poblacht na h-Eireann
The Provisional Government of the Irish Republic
To the People of Ireland.
…We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the
unfettered contorlo of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long
usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government has not extinguished the
right, not can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction fo the Irish people.
In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and
sovereignty; six times during the past three hundred years they have asserted it in
arms. Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of
the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish republic as a sovereign independent state, and
we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom,
of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.
The Irish republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman
and Irishwoman. The republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and
equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness
and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of
the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien
government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.
…In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline, and the
readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself
worthy of the august destiny to which it is called.
Signed on Behalf of the Provisional Government,
THOMAS J CLARKE
SEAN Mac DIARMADA, THOMAS MacDONAGH,
P. H. PEARSE, EAMONN CEANNT
JAMES CONNOLLY, JOSEPH PLUNKETT.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 18
Silent sentences
Lesson 31
The rebellion
imprisoned because
was condemned by
he was an
the Catholic
American citizen.
Church and the IPP
Around 450 rebels and
15 of those
civilians were
involved were
killed during the
executed and became
rebellion
known as
as were
the 'Easter Martyrs'.
116 British
De Valera was
soldiers and policemen.
Hillyard, Ireland 1800-1921: Topic 10A, 19