History is a fascinating subject, and there was a lot going on in the year 1916, such as the First World War.The year 1916 is remembered around the world for the First World War. Along with that, there was also the Easter Rising war going on in Dublin for the Irish Republic.The Easter Rising of 1916 started with a fight in Dublin by Irish rebels for the independence of Ireland from British rule. The Easter Rising started on April 24, 1916, and ended six days later, on April 29, 1916. The Easter Rising rebels included many well-known Irish personalities, like James Connolly, Patrick Pearse, Thomas Clarke, and many more. Not only Dublin, but many counties along Dublin’s coast, including Cork, Louth, Wexford, Meath, and Galway, reported skirmishes. Four hundred British troops were pitted against 1,000 Irish volunteers and an Irish citizen army. The exact number may vary.Preparations were made prior to the Easter Rising on Monday to attack British troops because they were busy with the First World War. So, considering this, Irish leaders could launch an attack on the British troops. The Easter Rising (1916) in Dublin was not at all celebratory. It was called an Easter Rebellion among Irish volunteers led by the Irish Citizen Army. Socialism, republicanism, Marxism, and anti-imperialism were some of the ideas of Irish rebels. Later, the Irish rebels decided to surrender so that the bloodshed and lives of Dubliners could be saved.If you enjoy reading this article about the British army and Irish rebels along with Irish history, then do read some interesting and surprising fun facts about 1941 and 1945.Who was involved in the 1916 Easter Rising?The 1916 Easter Rising was arranged and planned by Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett, Eamonn Ceannt, Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, and Sean McDermott.They were the seven members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Military Council who were martyred after the rising. The Easter Rising lasted for almost six days, and its aim was to get Irish independence from the British government and establish the Irish Republic. The Easter Rising took place in the streets of Central Dublin, and it all started on April 24, 1916. The Irish Volunteers were led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly.Along with them were 200 women from the Irish Republican Women’s Paramilitary, which was formed in Ireland in the year 1914. It was Easter Monday when fighting broke out against the British forces in Dublin streets, but it started the prior night, at midnight on Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916. The Irish volunteers spread out to take part in the Easter rebellion. In order to save the lives of Dublin citizens, the Irish Citizen Army, along with Irish volunteers, surrendered to the British soldiers of Great Britain.The Easter Rising helped Ireland and Irish politics by putting republicanism at the forefront, which was previously dominated by the constitutional nationalism of British people. The Easter week of April 1916 is still remembered by the people of Ireland for leading to Irish independence and the Irish Republic proclamation in Dublin. The 400 British soldiers had to face a war with 1,000 Irish volunteers and an Irish citizen army.What other wars were being fought in 1916?Apart from the Easter Rising of 1916, another major war that is well-known across the world was occurring: the First World War.The fact that British troops were busy with the First World War was being looked upon as an opportunity by Irish rebels to create a war-like situation, but they failed to gain power over Dublin and had to surrender to the British army. Later, the execution of the rebel leaders took place, along with many other deaths.The First World War was fought by the central power countries of Germany, Austria-Hungry, and the Ottoman Empire. They fought wars with Britain, the United States, Russia, and France, along with Japan. The central power was defeated by the end of the war. Almost 30 nations were indirectly involved in the First World War. The First World War started because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. During the First World War, H.H. Asquith and David Lloyd George were the prime ministers, and H.H. Asquith was the prime minister in command during the Easter Rising.In the First World War, between the allies and central power, many lives were lost, and soldiers even lived in trenches. In the First World War, the Battles of Somme, Gallipoli, Verdun, Jutland, the First Battle of Marne, and Tannenberg were fought during the First World War. It was Germany that signed the Armistice to stop the war, and the Victoria Cross was given to war heroes.Who founded the Irish Citizen Army?The Irish Citizen Army of Ireland was founded by James Larkin, James Connolly, and Jack White on November 23, 1913.Apart from them, many other leaders accompanied them, such as Kit Poole, P.T. Daly, Constance Markievicz, and many others. It was a small paramilitary group that consisted of trained volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. After the Easter Rising took place in the month of April in Dublin, the Irish Citizen Army was not involved directly in the Irish Civil War for independence.They just provided support to the Irish Republican Army of Ireland by providing material support. The Irish Citizen Army chose to be neutral during the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Their ideologies included socialism, republicanism, Marxism, and anti-imperialism. They had Irish volunteers and the Irish Republican Army as allies, and they fought two wars against British forces in Dublin, namely the Dublin Lockout and the Easter Rising. The headquarters of the Irish Citizen Army was in Liberty Hall, Dublin.Where did the 1916 rising take place?The Easter Rising took place in Dublin’s main street near O’Connell Street and Nelson’s Pillar.In order to retain the rule of the Irish Republic, the Irish Volunteers, along with the Irish citizen army, tried to create a war-like situation with British troops when they were already engaged in the First World War. The Easter Rising continued for the entire Easter week. Other counties involved, along with Dublin, were Meath, Galway, Louth, Wexford, and Cork.The Irish Volunteers had plans to capture the city, but their main gunman, named Sir Roger Cart, was captured with all their guns in Germany. So, the Irish rebels had only a few guns with them to fight a war with British troops. Around 300 Irish rebels entered the General Post Office, while 1250 Irish rebels fought on the streets.All the troops from Ireland were divided into groups rather than fighting together. Stephen’s Green, Shelbourne Hotel, Boland’s Mills, and Jacob’s Factory were a few of the places where the Easter Rising War took place in the month of April in Dublin. Around 155 members of the British forces were killed, while 70-100 Irish rebels were killed. It was the Easter Rising that laid the foundation for the Irish Republic and the Independence of Ireland.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘1916 facts that will teach you about the historic wars’, then why not take a look at ‘1946 interesting facts’, or ‘1969 fun facts for kids’?
History is a fascinating subject, and there was a lot going on in the year 1916, such as the First World War.
