A Rare Copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic
One hundred years after the Easter Rising, specialist Thomas Venning examines a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic — and meets a descendent of one of its signatories
On Easter Monday, 1916, Patrick Pearse stepped into the streets of Dublin to read from the Proclamation of the Irish Republic — a document that sparked the six-day Easter Rising, effectively laying the foundations for modern Ireland.
Thought to have been composed by Pearse, with contributions from James Connolly and Thomas MacDonagh, the Proclamation outlined the shape of a new Republic. From the first line, Irish men and women were placed as equals, with ‘religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities’ guaranteed to all — the Rising placed within the context of Ireland’s 300-year struggle for independence.
Composed on Good Friday, the Proclamation was printed on Easter Sunday at Liberty Hall. The fighting that followed lasted for six days from Easter Monday, with Pearse — facing vastly superior numbers — issuing an order for surrender on Saturday 29 April. In the subsequent weeks, 15 of the Rising’s leaders, including all seven of the signatories to the Proclamation, had been executed under martial law — James Connolly whilst tied to a chair, his ankle having been shattered by a bullet in the fighting.
‘What’s incredible here is that this text was written one day, printed the next, and put into action the day after that,’ says specialist Thomas Venning. ‘Then, within a few days, every signatory was executed’. The letters of the proclamation confirms the speed of events, improvised from type collected from foundries across the city, in the 24 hours that preceded printing.
Though approximately 1,000 copies of the Proclamation were originally printed, the majority were destroyed in the chaotic events of Easter Week — indeed, by 11 May, the Dublin Metropolitan police were struggling to find a single example. This is one of only 50 surviving copies — its crisp folds suggesting that it was folded immediately after printing.
For Joe MacDonagh, great-nephew of signatory Thomas MacDonagh, the significance of the document is ‘hard to put into words’. ‘This is something which will live on. It embodies something greater — a sense of aspiration that every country would want in its forebears. It’s something of which I’m very proud’.
Dublin, Ireland: A detailed tour of the city and suburbs (filmed May / June / July 2016)
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey. To read more about Dublin, click here:
This film is a detailed tour around the city of Dublin, and some of its suburbs. The film begins with the arrival at Dublin Airport, a subsequent tour North around the suburbs of Swords and Malahaide, before entering the city centre and exploring areas on both sides of the River Liffey, later into the film the suburbs of Tallaght and Dun Laoghaire are featured within the film, which highlight's Dublin's attractions, architecture, culture, music, pubs, streets, parks, gardens, churches, cathedrals, natural features, transport systems, infrastructure and art. This is one of the most detailed explorations of Dublin that is available online, and anyone wishing to explore Dublin would benefit from viewing this film first.
Within the film, the following locations and features are identified: Landing at Dublin Airport (Northerly view), Dublin Airport Terminal 1, 102 Bus ride to Swords, Main Street (Swords), The Old Borough (Swords), Wetherspoon's Large Irish Breakfast, Bridge Street (Swords), Swords Castle Park, Swords Castle, 102 Bus ride from Swords to Malahide, Malahide Castle Park and Gardens, Malahide Castle, Main Street (Malahide), St. Sylvester's Church, Malahide Marina Village, The Green (Malahide), Malahide Marina, Bissets Strand (Malahide), St. George's Channel, Malahide Train Station, DART train from Malahide to Dublin Pearse Street, Dublin Connolly Station, The Custom House, Dublin Pearse Station, Westland Row, Lombard Street East, Sean O'Casey Bridge, River Liffey, Beresford Place, Gardiner Street Lower, Frenchman's Lane, Talbot Street, Earl Street North, Department of Education and Skills, The Wishing Hand, St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral, O'Connell Street Upper, Smithfield, Smithfield Luas, Ride on the Luas Red Line to Tallaght, Tallaght Stadium, Maldron Hotel (Tallaght), N81 / Cookstown Way / Kiltipper Road (Tallaght), Belgard Square West (Tallaght), Tallaght Luas, Ride to Dublin Heuston on the Luas, Droimeneach Luas, Grand Canal, Goldenbridge Luas, Heuston Luas, Dublin Heuston Station, Guinness Brewery, Rory O'Moore Bridge, James Joyce Bridge, Mellows Bridge, St. Paul's Church, The Brazen Head, O'Shea's Merchant, Abbey Street Upper, Abbey Street Middle, Liffey Street Lower, Two Women, Bachelors Walk, Ha'Penny Bridge, Merchants Arch, O'Connell Bridge, River Bar, Rosie Hackett Bridge, Burgh Quay, Sheahan Memorial, Hawkins Street, Temple Bar, Temple Lane Street, Grattan Statue, College green, Irish Houses of Parliament, The University of Dublin Trinity College, College Street, The Campanile, Trinity College, Trinity Street, Central Bank of Ireland, Dame Street, City Hall, Rates Office, Lord Edward street, Cow's Lane, Christ Church Cathedral, Armenian Genocide Memorial, St. Audoen's Church, Thomas Street, John's Lane Church, John Street West, St. Catherine's Church, Old St. James Church, Nicholas Street, High Street, Millennium Child, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Aungier Street, Digges Street Upper, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin Unitarian Church, Saint Stephen's Green Park, Dawson Street, St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Sinnotts Bar, Marine Road (Dun Laoghaire), Dun Laoghaire Town Hall, Victoria Monument (Dun Laoghaire), O'Connell Street Lower, Henry street, James Larkin Statue, Sir John Gray Statue, Daniel O'Connell Statue, Chalres Stewart Parnell Statue, Rotunda Hospital, Ambassador Theatre, Cavendish Row, Garden of Rememberance, Abbey Presbyterian Church, Hardwicke Street, St. George's Church, Gardiner Street Upper, Dorset Street Lower, Royal Canal, Croke Park, Drumcondra Road Lower, Bus to Dublin Airport, Dublin Airport Terminal 2, Dublin Airport Terminal 1, Dublin Airport Terminal 1 Gate 104, and the take off from Dublin airport with Northerly views.
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