Reddit mentions of 1916: The Easter Rising

If I could add a wee bit to that, and thanks for the brilliant synopsis by the way, while the Easter Rising was the most significant rising in Ireland since 1798 it was entirely ineffectual and only had a tangential effect on Irish independence. It's importance is largely attributable to post independence propaganda.

The Rising, for example, only saw about 1,250 Irish men take part in fighting against the British Empire in Dublin. To put that number into context, close to 250,000 Irish men fought and, according to the Irish National War Memorial Gardens, 49,400 Irish men died fighting for the British Empire in WW I, which took place at the same time.

The vast, vast majority of the Irish population at that time were incensed both at the destruction caused in down town Dublin and at the deaths caused in the streets. Of the approximately 500 people that were killed during the Rising over half of them were citizens, 17 of them were police - all of whom were Irish - and a further 126 were "British" soldiers - 22 of whom were Irish.

It was only after the British began to execute the Rising's leaders that public opinion swayed towards the rebels, a fact that has largely been whitewashed from public perception. While it is true that the mood changed in Ireland post-1916 and that this change swept Sinn Féin to power in elections in 1918, the Rising was, at best, a spark that reignited long dormant feelings, rather than the catalyst that gained Irish freedom.

Additionally, the Rising didn't start until Easter Monday and, because Easter falls at a different time every year, that was April 24, 1916. The near delusional level of centenary events, particularly when viewed against the lack of bicentenary events in 1998, is simply a furthering of the "Glorious Rising" myth created post independence and does little to further the rather more ambiguous historical facts of the Rising and its true place in Irish history.

Éamon de Valera, who with his near fascist Catholic confessor, John Charles McQuaid devised the Irish Constitution which was directly responsible for the reprehensible atrocities committed by the Church in Ireland over the past century, is primarily responsible for propagating the myth of the Easter Rising. This was largely done to elevate his own role in Irish independence, to downplay the part played by Michael Collins and to gloss over Collins' decidedly more effective fighting that, because of its Guerilla nature, was seen as entirely unpalatable at the time. Collins's role during the War of Independence led directly to the Irish republic. De Valera's role during the Easter Rising did not. Additionally Collins was killed in an ambush during the Civil War by anti-Treatyites, under the nominal leadership of de Valera.

Anyone reveling in the "glories" of the Easter Rising is either unaware of the ambiguities of Irish history or has bought entirely into the post rising propaganda. For those who would like to learn a little more about the Rising, de Valera and Collins, Tim Pat Coogan has written a wonderful triumvirate of books on the subject and all are well worth a read:

1. Michael Collins
   
   
2. De Valera - Long Fellow, Long Shadow
   
   
3. 1916 - The Easter Rising
   
   History, as they say, is written by the winners of wars but, particularly in Ireland, one would do well to delve a little deeper into the historical facts rather than blindly swallowing the myth that has been packaged and sold to us by successive generations of Irish politicians.