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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..19db6b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52740 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52740) diff --git a/old/52740-8.txt b/old/52740-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 920577d..0000000 --- a/old/52740-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4173 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Doing My Bit For Ireland, by Margaret Skinnider - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Doing My Bit For Ireland - -Author: Margaret Skinnider - -Release Date: August 6, 2016 [EBook #52740] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND *** - - - - -Produced by Brownfox, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND - - -[Illustration: MARGARET SKINNIDER - -School-teacher, suffragist, nationalist: wounded while fighting in the -uniform of the Irish Volunteers] - - - - -DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND - -BY - -MARGARET SKINNIDER - -ILLUSTRATED - -[Illustration: Logo] - -NEW YORK -THE CENTURY CO. -1917 - - -Copyright, 1917, by -THE CENTURY CO. - - -_Published, June, 1917_ - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -When the revolt of a people that feels itself oppressed is successful, -it is written down in history as a revolution--as in this country in -1776. When it fails, it is called an insurrection--as in Ireland in -1916. Those who conquer usually write the history of the conquest. For -that reason the story of the "Dublin Insurrection" may become legendary -in Ireland, where it passes from mouth to mouth, and may remain quite -unknown throughout the rest of the world, unless those of us who were in -it and yet escaped execution, imprisonment, or deportation, write -truthfully of our personal part in the rising of Easter week. - -It was in my own right name that I applied for a passport to come to -this country. When it was granted me after a long delay, I wondered if, -after all, the English authorities had known nothing of my activity in -the rising. But that can hardly be, for it was a Government detective -who came to arrest me at the hospital in Dublin where I was recovering -from wounds received during the fighting. - -I was not allowed to stay in prison; the surgeon in charge of the -hospital insisted to the authorities at Dublin Castle that I was in no -condition to be locked up in a cell. But later they might have arrested -me, for I was in Dublin twice--once in August and again in November. On -both occasions detectives were following me. I have heard that three -days after I openly left my home in Glasgow to come to this country, -inquiries were made for me of my family and friends. - -That there is some risk in publishing my story, I am well aware; but -that is the sort of risk which we who love Ireland must run, if we are -to bring to the knowledge of the world the truth of that heroic attempt -last spring to free Ireland and win for her a place as a small but -independent nation, entitled to the respect of all who love liberty. It -is to win that respect, even though we failed to gain our freedom, that -I tell what I know of the rising. - -I find that here in America it is hard to imagine a successful Irish -revolt, but there was more than a fighting chance for us as our plans -were laid. Ireland can easily be defended by the population once they -are aroused, for the country is well suited to guerilla warfare, and the -mountains near the coast form a natural defense from attack by sea. Nor -do the people have to go outside for their food. They could easily live -for years in the interior on what the soil is capable of producing. And -there is plenty of ammunition in Ireland, too. If we had been able to -take the British as completely off guard in the country districts as we -did in Dublin--had there not been the delay of a day in carrying out -concerted action--we could have seized all the arms and ammunition of -the British arsenals on the island. - -To-day it would be harder, for the British are not likely to be again -caught unaware of our plans. Besides, they are taking precautions. -Drilling of any sort is forbidden; foot-ball games are not allowed; all -excursions are prohibited. The people are not allowed to come together -in numbers on any occasion. - -For a long time after the rising, I dreamed every night about it. The -dream was not as it actually took place, for the streets were different -and the strategic plans changed, while the outcome was always -successful. My awakening was a bitter disappointment, yet the memory of -our failure is a greater memory than many of us ever dared to hope. - -In all the literature of the Celtic revival through which Ireland has -gained fresh recognition from the world, there is no finer passage nor -one that can mean so much to us, than that paragraph of the last -proclamation which Padraic Pearse wrote in the ruined Dublin post-office -when under shell and shrapnel fire. At a moment when he knew that the -rising had been defeated, that the end of his supreme attempt had come, -he wrote: - -"For four days they (the men) have fought and toiled, almost without -cessation, almost without sleep; and in the intervals of fighting, they -have sung songs of the freedom of Ireland. No man has complained, no -man has asked 'why?'. Each individual has spent himself, happy to pour -out his strength for Ireland and for freedom. If they do not win this -fight, they will at least have deserved to win it. But win it they will, -although they may win it in death. Already they have won a great thing. -They have redeemed Dublin from many shames, and made her name splendid -among the names of cities." - -[Illustration: Signature] - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -Margaret Skinnider _Frontispiece_ - -The Irish Cross Presented to the Author 2 - -Constance Gore-Booth, Countess de Markievicz 7 - -Margaret Skinnider wearing Boy's Clothes 21 - -A Fianna Boy 53 - -James Connolly 93 - -The Proclamation of the Irish Republic 107 - -Belt Buckle 135 - -Stamps issued by the Irish Republic 135 - -Pearse's Last Proclamation 151 - -The Order that made the Surrender of the - College of Surgeons Inevitable 160 - -The Pass Out of Ireland 196 - - - - -DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND - - -[Illustration: THE IRISH CROSS PRESENTED TO THE AUTHOR - -The inscription reads: "The Cumman-na-mBan and Irish Volunteers, -Glasgow, present this to Margaret Skinnider for the work she did for -Ireland, Easter Week, 1916."] - - - - -DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND - - - - -I - - -Just before Christmas a year ago, I accepted an invitation to visit some -friends in the north of Ireland, where, as a little girl, I had spent -many midsummer vacations. My father and mother are Irish, but have lived -almost all their lives in Scotland and much of that time in Glasgow. -Scotland is my home, but Ireland my country. - -On those vacation visits to County Monaghan, Ulster, I had come to know -the beauty of the inland country, for I stayed nine miles from the town -of Monaghan. We used to go there in a jaunting-car and on the way -passed the fine places of the rich English people--the "Planter" people -we called them because they were of the stock that Cromwell brought over -from England and planted on Irish soil. We would pass, too, the small -and poor homes of the Irish, with their wee bit of ground. It was then I -began to feel resentment, though I was only a child. - -In Scotland there were no such contrasts for me to see, but there were -the histories of Ireland,--not those the English have written but those -read by all the young Irish to-day after they finish studying the -Anglicized histories used in the schools. I did it the other way about, -for I was not more than twelve when a boy friend loaned me a big thick -book, printed in very small type, an Irish history of Ireland. Later I -read the school histories and the resentment I had felt in County -Monaghan grew hotter. - -Then there were the old poems which we all learned. My favorite was, -"The Jackets Green," the song of a young girl whose lover died for -Ireland in the time of William III. The red coat and the green jacket! -All the differences between the British and Irish lay in the contrast -between those two colors. William III, too! Up to his reign the Irish -army had been a reality; Ireland had had a population of nine millions. -To-day there are only four millions of Irish in Ireland, a country that -could easily support five times that number in ease and comfort. The -history of my country after the time of William III seemed to me to be a -history of oppression which we should tell with tears if we did not tell -it with anger. - -But I believed the time was at hand to do something. We _all_ believed -that; for an English war is always the signal for an Irish rising. Ever -since this war began, I had been hearing of vague plans. In Glasgow I -belonged to the Irish Volunteers and to the Cumman-na-mBan, an -organization of Irish girls and women. I had learned to shoot in one of -the rifle practice clubs which the British organized so that women could -help in the defense of the Empire. These clubs had sprung up like -mushrooms and died as quickly, but I kept on till I was a good marksman. -I believed the opportunity would soon come to defend my own country. And -now I was going over at Christmas to learn what hope there was of a -rising in the spring. - -After all, I did not go to the quiet hills of Monaghan, but to Dublin at -the invitation of the most patriotic and revolutionary woman in all -Ireland. Constance Gore-Booth, who by her marriage with a member of the -Polish nobility became the Countess Markievicz, had heard of my work in -the Cumman-na-mBan and wanted to talk with me. She knew where all the -men and women who loved Ireland were working, and sooner or later met -them all, in spite of the fact that she was of Planter stock and by -birth of the English nobility in Ireland. - -[Illustration: CONSTANCE GORE-BOOTH, COUNTESS DE MARKIEVICZ - -One of the leaders of the rising. (Her death sentence was commuted to -life imprisonment)] - -It was at night that I crossed the Irish Sea. All other passengers went -to their state-rooms, but I stayed on deck. Leaning back in a -steamer-chair, with my hat for a pillow, I dropped asleep. That I ever -awakened was a miracle. In my hat I was carrying to Ireland detonators -for bombs, and the wires were wrapped around me under my coat. That was -why I had not wanted to go to a state-room where I might run into a -hot-water pipe or an electric wire that would set them off. But -pressure, they told me when I reached Dublin, is just as dangerous, and -my head had been resting heavily on them all night! - - -It is hard now to think of that hospitable house in Leinster Road with -all the life gone out of it and its mistress in an English prison. Every -one coming to Dublin who was interested in plays, painting, the Gaelic -language, suffrage, labor, or Irish Nationalism, visited there. The -Countess Markievicz kept "open house" not only for her friends, but for -her friends' friends. As one of them has written: "Until she came down -to breakfast in the morning, she never knew what guests she had under -her roof. In order not to disturb her, they often climbed in through -the window late at night." - -The place was full of books; you could not walk about without stumbling -over them. There were times, too, when the house looked like the -wardrobe in a theater. You would meet people coming down-stairs in all -manner of costume for their part in plays the count wrote and -"Madam"--as we called her--acted with the help of whoever were her -guests. These theatrical costumes were sometimes used for plays put on -at the Abbey Theater, near by. They served, too, as disguises for -suffragettes or labor leaders wanted by the police. The house was always -watched whenever there was any sort of agitation in Dublin. - -I remember hearing of one labor leader whom the police hoped to arrest -before he could address a mass-meeting. He was known to visit Madam, so -the plainclothes men made for Surrey House at once. When they arrived -they found a fancy-dress ball going on to welcome the count back from -Poland. All windows were lighted, music for dancing could be heard, and -guests in carriages and motors were arriving. This was no likely haunt -for a labor agitator, so they went away. But caution brought them back -the next morning, for rumor still had it that their man was hiding -there. They waited about the house all that morning and afternoon. Many -persons came and went, among them an old man who walked with difficulty -and leaned upon the arm of a young woman. The police paid no more -attention to him than to the others, but it was the labor leader in one -of the disguises from the theatrical wardrobe. He made his speech that -night surrounded by such a crowd of loyal defenders that he could not -be arrested. - -During the Transport Workers' strike in 1913, Madam threw open her house -as a place of refuge where strikers were sure to find something to eat -or a spot to sleep, if only on the drawing-room floor. In addition, she -sold her jewels to obtain money to establish soup-kitchens for their -families. Her energy and courage always led her where the conflict was -hottest. I do not think she knew what it was to be afraid, once she -decided upon a course of action. Although belonging to the most -privileged class in Ireland by birth and education, as a little girl she -had thrown herself into the Irish cause. She and her sister Eva used to -go to the stables, take horses without permission, and ride at a mad -pace to the big meetings. There they would hear the great Parnell or -the eloquent Michael Davitt tell the story of the wrongs done to -Ireland, and urge upon their hearers great courage and self-sacrifice -that these wrongs might be righted. If all those at such meetings had -heeded the speakers' words as did this little daughter of Lady -Gore-Booth; had they surrendered themselves as completely as she did, I -verily believe we would to-day be far along the road toward a free -Ireland. - -As a child all the villagers on her father's estate loved Madam, for -they felt her sincerity. When she was sent away to school or went to -Paris to study painting, for which she had marked talent, they missed -her. It was while she was in Paris that she met and married another -artist, a member of the Polish nobility. Poland and Ireland! Two -countries which have had their great history and their great -humiliation now have their hope of freedom! - -Neither the count nor countess were willing to permanently give up their -country of birth, so they decided to live part of the time in Dublin and -part of the time on his estates near Warsaw. It was while Madam was in -Poland that she learned some of the fine old Polish airs to which she -later put words for the Irish. Upon her return to Ireland she was at -last expected to take her place as a social leader in the Dublin Castle -set. Instead, she went more ardently than ever into all the different -movements that were working towards the freedom of Ireland. - -About this time Baden-Powell was organizing his British Boy Scouts in -Ireland. He was so much impressed with the success Padraic Pearse was -having with Irish boys that he asked him to help him in the Boy Scout -movement. Pearse did not care to make potential British soldiers out of -Irish boys, however, and refused this invitation. The incident stirred -Madam to urge an Irish Boy Scout movement. She could not find any one to -take it up with energy, so she decided to do it herself with Pearse's -coöperation. Madam had never done work of this sort, but that did not -deter her. Since it must be an organization that would do something for -Irish spirit in Irish boys, she named it after the Fianna Fireann, a -military organization during the reign of Cormac MacAirt, one of the old -Irish heroes. Its story was one of daring and chivalry such as would -appeal to boys. With this name went instruction in Ireland's history in -the days of her independence and great deeds, as well as instruction in -scouting and shooting. - -At Cullenswood House, where Padraic Pearse had his boys' school until it -outgrew these quarters, there is a fresco in the hall that pictures an -old Druid warning the boy hero, Cuchullain, that whoever takes up arms -on a certain day will become famous, but will die an early death. The -answer, which became a motto for the boys in that school and also a -prophecy of their teacher's death, is in old Irish beneath the fresco: - -"I care not if my life has only the span of a night and a day if my -deeds be spoken of by the men of Ireland!" - -It was in this spirit of devotion to Ireland that the Fianna boys were -drilled. The house in Leinster Road was always running over with them, -some as young as ten years. You would find them studying hard or, just -as likely, sliding down the fine old banisters. Madam never went -anywhere that they did not follow as a bodyguard. They loved her and -trusted her, a high compliment, since I have always found that boys are -keen judges of sincerity. If her work had been either pose or mere -hysterical enthusiasm, as some English "friends" in Dublin have sought -to make the world believe, these boys would have discovered it quickly -enough. As it was, they remained her friends, and two of the younger -men, executed after Easter Week, were volunteer officers who received -their first training under Madam in the Fianna. - -The countess was one of the best shots in Ireland, and taught the boys -how to shoot. After the rising, when we all had surrendered, there still -was one house from which constant and effective firing went on for -three days. At last a considerable force of British took it by storm. -Imagine the surprise of the officer in command when he found that its -only occupants were three boys, all under sixteen! - -"Who taught you to shoot like that?" he asked them. - -"The Countess Markievicz," came the answer. - -"How often did she drill you?" - -"Only on Sundays," was the reply. - -"And these great lumps of mine," exclaimed the officer in disgust, "are -drilled twice a day and don't yet know their left foot from their -right!" - -Madam also took real interest in the personal problems of her boys. -While I was staying with her at Christmas, she was teaching a boy to -sing. He was slowly growing blind, and nothing could be done to save his -sight; but she determined that he should have a livelihood, and spent -hours of her crowded days in teaching him the words and music of all the -best patriotic songs and ballads. If she heard that any of the boys were -sick, she would have them brought over to Surrey House where she herself -could nurse and cheer them. Between times she would rouse their love of -country to a desire to study its history. - -When I told Madam I could pass as a boy, even if it came to wrestling or -whistling, she tried me out by putting me into a boy's suit, a Fianna -uniform. She placed me under the care of one of her boys to whom she -explained I was a girl, but that, since it might be necessary some day -to disguise me as a boy, she wanted to find whether I could escape -detection. I was supposed to be one of the Glasgow Fianna. We went out, -joined the other Fianna, and walked about the streets whistling rebel -tunes. Whenever we passed a British soldier we made him take to the -gutter, telling him the streets of Dublin were no place "for the likes -of him." - -[Illustration: MARGARET SKINNIDER - -(wearing boy's clothes)] - -The boys took me for one of themselves, and some began to tell me their -deeds of prowess in Dublin. Ever since the war began they had gone about -to recruiting meetings, putting speakers to rout and sometimes upsetting -the platforms. This sounds like rowdyism, but it is only by such tests -of courage and strength that the youth of a dominated race can acquire -the self-confidence needed later for the real struggle. - -They sang for me Madam's "Anti-recruiting Song," which they always used -as an accompaniment to their attacks on recruiting-booths. Its first two -lines go thus: - - - The recruiters are raidin' old Dublin, boys! - It's them we'll have to be troublin', boys! - - -And the last two lines are: - - - From a Gael with a gun the Briton will run! - And we'll dance at the wake of the Empire, boys! - - -These disturbances by the Fianna were part of a campaign by which -Nationalists hoped to keep Irishmen out of the war and ready for their -own fight when the time came. Many were kept at home, but hundreds, -thrown out of work by their employers with the direct purpose of making -them enter the British army, had to enlist for the pitiful "king's -shilling." Nothing so illustrates the complete lack of humor of the -British as their method of arousing interest in the war. They declared -it was the part of England to "defend the honor and integrity of small -nations"! - -Even before the war the countess had watched for any opportunity to -destroy militarist propaganda. Although England has won the world's -heart by explaining she never considered there was danger of war, and -for that reason the preparedness of her enemy was an unfair advantage, -still, we had heard of the German menace for a long time. It was -announced in Dublin that the play, "An Englishman's Home," which had had -a long run in London, where it pictured to thousands the invasion of -England by the Germans, was to open for an equally long run in the Irish -capital to stir us to take precautions against invasion. - -Madam took her Fianna boys in full force to the opening night -performance. They occupied pit and gallery while the rest of the -theater was filled with British officers and their wives. The fine -uniforms and evening dress made a great showing, for Dublin is the most -heavily garrisoned city of its size in the world. - -The play went on peacefully enough until the Germans appeared on the -stage. At their first appearance as the invading foe, the Fianna, in -green shirts and saffron kilts, stood up and sung in German "The Watch -on the Rhine," just as the countess had taught it to them. - -Of course there was consternation, but after a moment an officer stood -up and began to sing "God Save the King." All the other officers and the -"ascendancy people," as we call our English upper class in Ireland, rose -and joined him. But you cannot safely sing "God Save the King" in -Dublin. Eggs and vegetables at once began to fly, and the curtain had -to be rung down. So ended the Dublin run of "An Englishman's Home"! - -These things the Fianna boys told me on our way to the shooting-gallery -where they wanted to see the Glasgow "boy" shoot. I hit the bull's-eye -oftener than any of them, much to the delight of the boy who knew I was -a girl. He was not much surprised, however, for by her own skill Madam -had accustomed them to expect good marksmanship in a woman. - - - - -II - - -As this was my first visit to Dublin, Madam thought I might want to see -some of the sights. She took me to a museum and next suggested that we -visit an art gallery. - -"What I really want to see," I told her, "is the poorest part of Dublin, -the very _poorest_ part." - -This pleased her, for her heart is always there. She took me to Ash -Street. I do not believe there is a worse street in the world than Ash -Street. It lies in a hollow where sewage runs and refuse falls; it is -not paved and is full of holes. One might think it had been under -shell-fire. Some of the houses have fallen down,--from sheer weariness -it seems,--while others are shored up at the sides with beams. The -fallen houses look like corpses, the others like cripples leaning upon -crutches. - -Dublin is full of such streets, lanes, and courts where houses, years -ago condemned by the authorities, are still tenanted. These houses are -symbolic of the downfall of Ireland. They were built by rich Irishmen -for their homes. To-day they are tenements for the poorest Irish people, -but they have not been remodeled for this purpose, and that is one -reason why them seem so appalling--the poor among the ruins of grandeur. - -In one room, perhaps a drawing-room, you find four families, each in its -own corner, with sometimes not as much as the tattered curtains for -partitions. Above them may be a ceiling of wonderfully modeled and -painted figures, a form of decoration the art of which has been lost. -At the end of this room is a mantel of purest white marble over an -enormous fireplace long ago blocked up, except for a small opening in -which a few coals at a time may be burned. The doors of such a room are -often made of solid mahogany fifteen feet in height. - -The gas company of Dublin refuses to furnish gas above the second floor, -and the little fireplaces can never give enough heat, even when fuel is -comparatively plentiful. As I write, coal is fifteen dollars a ton, and -is costing the poor, who buy in small quantities, from thirty to -forty-five per cent. more. - -In Dublin there are more than twenty thousand such rooms in which one or -more families are living. That epidemics are not more deadly speaks well -for the fundamental health of those who live in them, for there are no -sanitary arrangements. Water is drawn from a single tap somewhere in the -backyard. The only toilet, to be used by all the people in any one of -these houses, is also in the backyard or, worse still, in a dark, -unventilated basement. - -The head of a family in these one-time "mansions," which number several -thousand, seldom makes more than four or five dollars a week! Of this -amount, if they want the luxury of even a small room to themselves, they -must pay about a dollar. Is it any wonder that the word "rent" has a -fearful sound to the Irish? After this rent is paid, there is not much -left for food and clothes. Starvation, even in time of peace, is always -hovering near. Bread and tea for breakfast, but rarely butter; bread and -tea, and either herrings or potatoes, sometimes with cabbage, for their -midday meal; bread and tea for supper. Two fifths of the inhabitants of -Dublin live on this fare the year round. If they have beef or mutton -once a week they must eat it boiled or fried, since the fireplaces are -too primitive for roasting or baking. Neither will they permit baking of -bread or cakes. - -Yet Ireland could raise fruit and vegetables and grain for twenty -million people! I have seen ships deep laden with food for need of which -the Irish are slowly starving--I contend undernourishment _is_ -starvation--going in a steady stream to England. The reason was that the -English were able to pay better prices than the man at home. Food, since -the beginning of the war, has literally been drained out of the country. -Ireland to-day is in a state of famishment, if not of famine. - -Here in Dublin, though the streets and lanes seem full of children, the -death-rate is tremendously high. The population of all Ireland has -decreased fifty per cent. in fifty years. In Poland, under the rule of -the Russian czar, the population increased. It is one thing to read -about Irish "grievances," it is another to be living where they go on -year after year. - -"Grievance"--that is the way the British sum up our sense of wrong, and -with such effect that people the world over fancy our wrongs are not -wrongs but imagined grievances. The word itself counts against us in the -eyes of those who have never been to Ireland and seen for themselves the -conditions under which the great majority of the population must live. -To be sure, there are always complaints carried to Parliament and then a -"commission of inquiry," followed a little later by a "report upon -conditions." But the actual results seem small. It was disgust for this -sort of carrying out complaints in a basket and bringing back reports in -the very same basket that roused Arthur Griffith to write his pamphlet -on Hungary and her rebuilding from _within_. He felt that the Irish, -too, must set about saving themselves without political help from -parliamentarians. He even went so far as to say that, since Irishmen who -went to Parliament seemed so soon to forget their country except as it -served their political advancement, we ought not to send men to -Parliament. Ireland, he declared, should concentrate upon the economic -and industrial life possible to her--a life that could be developed -wonderfully if men set out to win Ireland for the Irish. This propaganda -of Griffith's--for it soon became such--stirred all the young men and -women who before had been hopeless. "Ireland for the Irish!" The -movement quickly became what is called the "Sinn Fein," which is Gaelic -for "Ourselves Alone." - -That this organization should be considered in America as a sort of -"Black Hand," or anarchistic society, is evidence of the impression it -made upon the English as a powerful factor to be reckoned with. It had -come into being overnight, but its principles were as old as Ireland. It -sprang from a love of Ireland and not, as many believe, from hatred of -England. It could not have thrived as it did wherever it touched a young -heart and brain if it had merely been a protest. It had a national ideal -and goal. Every day was dedicated to it. To speak the Irish language; to -wear Irish-made clothes of Irish tweed; to think and feel, write, -paint, or work for the best interests of Ireland; to make every act, -personal or communal, count for the betterment of Ireland--all this was -animated by love of our country. The Sinn Fein was constantly inspired -by poems and essays which appeared in Arthur Griffith's weekly magazine. -That poetry to-day is known throughout civilization as the poetry of the -"Celtic Revival." - -There was a gospel of "passive resistance," too, which led Irishmen to -refuse to pay taxes or take any part in the Anglicizing of Ireland. It -was this phase that soon won the disapproval of the party that stood for -parliamentary activity, and naturally it aroused dissatisfaction in -England. - - -From Ash Street the countess took me to Glasnevin Cemetery, where men -lie buried, who, having lived under conditions such as I had just looked -upon, spent their lives in protest against the same. Here was the grave -of O'Donovan Rossa and a score of others whom I felt were heroes. Here, -also, was the grave of Anne Devlin, that brave woman who refused to -betray Robert Emmet to the British officers seeking him after his -unsuccessful effort to oppose English rule in 1803. These graves and the -ruinous houses of Ash Street show patriotism and poverty working for -each other and, despite themselves, against each other. - -A few months after my visit, there was fighting all about Glasnevin -Cemetery between the Royal Irish Constabulary and those who were to -carry on the traditions of the great struggle. - -Not far from the home of Countess Markievicz stand the Portobello -barracks, while much farther off are the Beggar's Bush barracks. She -asked me one day if I thought I could make a plan of the latter from -observation that would be of use if at any time it was decided to -dynamite them. She gave no explanation, did not even tell me in what -part of Dublin the barracks were located nor that two officers of the -Irish Volunteers had already tried to make this plan and had failed. But -she knew that I had had experience in gaging distances and drawing maps. -I had just taken a course in calculus, and it was when telling her of my -love for mathematics that she set me this task. - -There was a large map of Dublin on the wall of a study in her house. I -scrutinized this carefully, for I did not know my way alone about -Dublin. Then I started out and found the place without great difficulty. -It is in the southwestern outskirts of the city, a large, brick -structure filling in the right angle where two streets meet. From this -corner I walked very slowly along the front of the barracks, counting my -paces, gaging the height of the outer wall, and studying the building -itself for anything its secretive exterior might betray. I presently -noticed that the loopholes which appeared in the wall at regular -intervals stopped short a number of yards from the corner. They had been -filled in with bricks of a slightly different color than the rest of the -wall. At once I asked myself why this had been done and, to discover the -reason, if possible, crossed the street to where I could look over the -wall. I was able to see that within the right angle at the corner was a -small, circular building. It stood close to both the front and side -wall, yet did not touch either. There was room for a sentry to walk -around it, and all loopholes near it had been bricked up. - -The conclusion I drew from this fact was that here was a powder -magazine. It was so placed as not to be too noticeable from the street, -easily guarded by a sentry, and conveniently near the loopholes in case -defense of the barracks became necessary. - -I walked away, and next approached the barracks from another side. Here -I found that between the street and the main wall was a low outer wall -about my own height. When I reached the spot where I thought the -magazine ought to be, I took my handkerchief and let it -blow--accidentally, of course--over this outer wall. A passing boy -gallantly offered to get it for me. Being a woman and naturally curious, -I found it necessary to pull myself up on tiptoe to watch him as he -climbed over the wall. The ground between the two walls had not been -paved, but was of soft earth. I had seen enough. Thanking the boy, I put -my handkerchief carefully into my pocket so as not to trouble any one -else by making them climb about on Dublin walls, and went on my way. - -Upon my return to Leinster Road, I gave the distances and heights I had -taken to Madam, describing the way a hole could be dug, under cover of a -dark night, between the two walls close to where the magazine stood. A -quantity of explosive could be placed in this hole, a long wire could be -attached to a detonator and laid along the outer wall for some distance, -and then, without being noticed, some one could touch the end of the -wire with the battery from a pocket flashlamp. The explosion that -followed, I felt sure, would blow up not only the inner wall, but the -wall of the magazine and set off the powder stored therein. Madam asked -me to write this all down. Later she showed what I had written to the -man who was to be Commander-in-chief of the Republican army in Dublin, -James Connolly. He knew Beggar's Bush barracks well enough to see that -my map was correct and believed the plan practicable enough to carry out -in case conscription should become a fact in Ireland despite all -promises to the contrary. - -But the test I had been put to was, it seemed, not merely a test of my -ability to draw maps and figure distances. From that day I was taken -into the confidence of the leaders of the movement for making Ireland a -republic. - -The situation, I learned from Mr. Connolly, was very hopeful, because -for the first time in hundreds of years those who were planning a -revolution to free Ireland had organized bodies of Irishmen who not only -were well trained in the use of firearms, but so full of the spirit of -the undertaking that they were ready at a moment's notice to mobilize. -There was the Irish Citizen Army which Mr. Connolly had organized after -the Transport Workers' strike to defend working-men from onslaughts by -the police. I do not believe any one who has not seen what we call a -"baton charge" of the Dublin police can quite comprehend the motives -which make for such ruthless methods. - -In the first place, whenever the police are called out for strike duty -or to be on the lookout for rioting, they are given permission to drink -all they wish. At the station-houses are big barrels of porter from -which the police are expected to help themselves freely. Then the -saloon-keepers--we call them publicans--are not expected to refuse a -drink to any policeman who demands it, and are paid or not according to -the mood of the protector of the public peace. Add to this that the -police do not attack in order to disperse a crowd, but to kill. In a -public square where a crowd has gathered to hear a labor speech, the -police assemble on four sides and, upon a given signal, rush to the -center, pushing even innocent passers-by into the midst of the crowd -that, on the instant, has become a mob. Then the police use their batons -like shillalahs, swinging them around and around before bringing them -down upon the heads of the people. - -Fearing one of these baton attacks in 1913, Madam, having come down to -the square in her car, had just stepped out upon the sidewalk when she -was struck full in the face by a policeman's club! On that same day, -too, the police rushed into the adjoining streets and clubbed every -person they met, even people several blocks from the square who, at the -moment, were coming out of church from vesper service. - -Mr. Connolly found that in any strike in Ireland the interests of -England and of the employer were the same; that his strikers had to meet -the two members of the opposition without any defense. Therefore he had -organized the men who were fighting for better hours and wages into a -"Citizen Army." It is against the law for any one to bear arms in -Ireland, but in this case the authorities could do nothing because they -had not disarmed the men of Ulster when the latter armed and drilled to -defend themselves against Home Rule, should it become a fact. The -Ulster-men were openly planning insurrection under Sir Edward -Carson--insurrection against a law, a political measure desired by the -majority! It was an anarchistic outbreak that Carson had in mind. Mr. -Connolly, on the other hand, was organizing simply for defense against -police power that had grown unbridled in its activities. No one -interfered with him. - -As always, this organization was under surveillance, and reports about -it were sent to the authorities. But there appeared to be no more than -three hundred members, a small body not dangerous to the police if it -should come into conflict with them. It was not known that there were -several times three hundred members, but that only this number was -allowed to drill or march at any one time. This drilling baffled the -police. Many a night the three hundred would be mobilized and quietly -march through Dublin out into the country, the police trailing wearily -and nervously after them, expecting some excitement along the line of -march. Nothing ever happened. Back to town in the wee, small hours the -police would come, only to see the men disperse as quietly as they had -assembled and go home to bed. After this had happened many times, it no -longer attracted official attention. Only perfunctory reports were made -of any mobilization of the Citizen Army, and thus it came about that on -Easter Sunday the mobilization was taken for nothing more than the usual -drill and not reported. - -The second organization, the Irish Volunteers, was brought into being by -those in favor of Home Rule, and was a makeweight against the -Ulster-men. Since the Irish Volunteers were organized to protect law, to -uphold Home Rule should it become a fact as promised, nothing could be -done by the authorities when the volunteers began to arm themselves. -Besides, nothing had been done to prevent the Ulster-men from arming -themselves. The conservative press in England actually supported the -Ulster-men, and English army officers resigned rather than disarm them. -What, then, could they be expected to do to a body of men who stood for -law and order instead of opposing it as in Ulster? This situation made -possible a strategic position for the leaders of the Republican -movement. - -Had not the authorities realized that now they would meet with armed -resistance if they broke their promise about conscription, we should -have had to send our brothers to France and Flanders early in the war. -But the Citizen Army and the Irish Volunteers had no intention of -allowing men to be carried off to fight England's battles when, for the -first time in many years, there was a chance of winning freedom for -Ireland. To keep this constantly in the public mind, Mr. Connolly had a -large sign hung over the main entrance to Liberty Hall, his -headquarters: - - - WE SERVE NEITHER KING NOR - KAISER, BUT IRELAND - - - - -III - - -The need of explosives was great, and I took part in a number of -expeditions to obtain them. One night we raided a ship lying in the -river. The sailors were drunk, and three or four of our men had no -trouble in getting into the hold. I was standing guard on the other side -of the embankment wall, holding one end of a string that served as a -telegraph between our outposts in the street and our men in the boat. -One jerk from me meant, "Some one coming"; two jerks, "Police"; three -jerks, "Clear out as best you can." - -Suddenly I heard the outpost up the street whistling a patriotic tune. -This was a signal to me. It meant the police were coming. I gave two -jerks of the string and waited. - -A policeman came slowly toward me. He had his dark-lantern and, catching -sight of me, flashed it in my face. He stared, but said nothing. No -doubt he was wondering what a decently dressed girl was doing in that -part of town at such an hour. I watched him as closely as he watched me. -If he caught sight of my string, I intended to give three jerks, and, at -the same moment, throw pepper in his face, my only weapon. - -But he did not notice the string, and passed on. My heart had stopped -beating; now it began again, though I felt rather queer. Risks like this -have to be taken, however, when one is preparing a revolution and has -neither firearms nor ammunition, the people in power having put an -embargo upon them. It is all in the way of war. I can add that this -raid was as successful as usual. - -One day the countess took several of us, including her dog Poppet, out -beyond Dundrum. Upon our return we could call this expedition "a little -shooting party." And it would be the truth, for Poppet, being an Irish -cocker, more interested in hunting than in revolts, joined himself to -two men who were intent on getting birds. He was of so great assistance -that these men, in recognition of his services, gave us a few of the -birds he brought in. We took them home as trophies. - -[Illustration: A FIANNA BOY] - -But the whole truth was that we had been out to test dynamite. We were -looking for some old wall to blow up, and found one on the side of a -hill. After the hunters had disappeared, two of us were posted with -field-glasses while Madam set off the explosive. It was a lonely place, -so we were not disturbed. The great stones flew into the air with dust -and thunder. Indeed, the country people round about, when they heard -that rumble and saw the cloud of smoke, must have wondered at the sudden -thunder-storm on the hill. - -An Irishman told me once that, although he had hoped for a revolution -and worked for it, he had never felt it would be a reality until one -night when he and some friends, out cross-country walking in the -moonlight, came upon Madam and her Fianna boys bivouacked in the open. -They had come out for a drill. She was in uniform, with kneebreeches, -puttees, and officer's coat, and the whole scene was martial and -intense. - -The Fianna were proud of the fact that they were the first military -organization in Ireland, four years older than either the Irish Citizen -Army or the Irish Volunteers. It was in 1909 that the countess heard of -Baden-Powell coming to Ireland to organize his British Boy Scouts, where -they might be useful later on to the empire. She tried to get people -interested in organizing the same way for Ireland, and finally made this -her own task, though she knew nothing of military tactics and as little -of boys. There was virtually no money or equipment like that in -Baden-Powell's organization, and naturally many blunders were made at -the outset. But she studied both boys and tactics, and finally came to -believe that to succeed, the spirit of old Ireland must be invoked. So -the organization was given the historic Gaelic name, Fianna, with its -flavor of romance and patriotic tradition. The boys saved up their money -for uniforms and equipment, and from the beginning were aware of -themselves as an independent, self-respecting body. They have stood -well the test of the revolution. - -One of the most popular actresses at the Abbey Theater in Dublin was -Helen Maloney. Through her energy Mr. Connolly returned from America to -organize the working-men of Ireland, and thus met the countess. From the -friendship and coöperation of these three persons, you can judge how all -class distinction had gone down before the love of Ireland and the -determination to free her. - -James Connolly was a very quiet man at the time I met him, quiet and -tense. He was short and thick-set, with a shrewd eye and determined -speech. He proved a genius at organization, and this was lucky, for in -Dublin there are no great factories, except Guinness's, to employ large -numbers of men, and this makes organization difficult. To have managed -such a strike as the Transport Workers' in 1913, after only half a dozen -years of organization, is proof of his great ability. And then to -organize a Citizen's Army! - -Connolly is the answer to those who think the rising was the work of -dreamers and idealists. No one who knew him could doubt that when he led -his army of working-men into battle for the Irish Republic, he believed -there was a good fighting chance to establish such a republic. He was -practical, and had no wish to spill blood for the mere glory of it; -there was nothing melodramatic about him. A north of Ireland man,--he -originally came from the only part of Ireland I know well, County -Monaghan,--he had many times given proof of sound judgment and courage. -He was often at the house of the countess while I was visiting her, and -one evening, just before I left, Madam called my attention to the fact -that he was in better spirits than for a long time past. Word had come -to him from America that on or near Easter Sunday a shipful of arms and -ammunition would arrive in Ireland. This news determined the date of the -rising, for it was all that was needed from without to insure success. -We believed this then, and do still. - -We were collecting and hiding what arms and ammunition we could. In -proportion to the amount of courage of those in the secret, so the -dynamite that they hid against the day soon to come grew and -accumulated. Though the house in Leinster Road was always watched, the -countess had it stocked like an arsenal. Bombs and rifles were hidden in -absurd places, for she had the skill to do it and escape detection. A -French journalist who visited Dublin shortly before the insurrection -possibly came upon some of this evidence, or perhaps it was only the -Fianna uniforms which impressed him, for he wrote: - -"The salon of the Countess Markiewicz is not a salon. It is a military -headquarters." - -Despite this martial ardor, Madam found time to write poetry and -"seditious" songs. This poetry would be in print now had not the house -of Mrs. Wise-Power, where she left it for safekeeping, been blown to -pieces by English gunners when they tried to find the range of the -post-office. Their marksmanship would not have been so poor, perhaps, -had they had the countess to teach them. - -Many of the singers of our old and new lays are in prison, sentenced for -their part in stirring up insurrection, even though they had nothing to -do with the rising itself. The authorities seemed to take no notice of -these patriotic concerts while they were being given, but afterward they -paid this modern minstrelsy the tribute it deserved. For these concerts -were full of inspiration to every one who attended. Though all were in -the open, they were, as a matter of fact, "seditious," if that word -means stirring up rebellion against those who rule you against your -will. - -One of the many things I recall gives a clear idea of the untiring and -never-ending enthusiasm of the countess. She realized one day that the -Christmas-cards usually sold in Ireland were "made in Germany," and -since the war was on, had been supplanted by cards "made in England." -She sat down at once to design Irish Christmas-cards for the holiday -season of 1916. But when that Christmas came around she was in prison, -and the cards were--no one can say where. - -When I left Dublin to return to my teaching in Glasgow, they made me -promise that I would come back whenever they sent for me, probably just -before Easter. - - - - -IV - - -When I told my mother on my return of the plans for Easter, she shook -her head. - -"There never was an Irish rising that some one didn't betray it," she -said. "It was so in '67, and before that in 1798." - -But she did not appreciate the spirit I had found in Dublin. I told her -that all were united, rich and poor, dock-workers, school-teachers, -poets, and bar-tenders. They were working together; I believed they -would stand and fight together. And I was right. - -It was not easy to go quietly back to teaching mathematics and hear only -now and then what was going on in Dublin. Fortunately, Glasgow is two -fifths Irish. Indeed, there are as many Irish there as in Dublin itself, -and the spirit among the younger generation is perhaps more intense -because we are a little to one side and thus afraid of becoming -outsiders. - -In February, when conscription came to Scotland, there was nothing for -members of the Irish Volunteers in Glasgow to do but to disappear. I -knew one lad of seventeen whose parents, though Irish, wanted him to -volunteer in the service of the empire. He refused, telling them his -life belonged to Ireland. He went over to fight at the time of the -rising, and served a year in prison afterward. - -Whenever an Irish Volunteer was notified to report for service in the -Glasgow contingent of the British army, he would slip across the same -night to Ireland, and go to Kimmage, where a camp was maintained for -these boys. While the British military authorities were hunting for them -in Scotland and calling them "slackers," they were drilling and -practising at the target, or making ammunition for a cause they believed -in and for which they were ready to die. - -Presently news came from Dublin that James Connolly had written a play -entitled, "Under which Flag?" We heard also that when it was produced, -it had a great effect upon the public. In this play the hero, during the -last act, chooses the flag of the republic and the final curtain falls. -Some one told Mr. Connolly he ought to write another act to show what -happened afterward. His reply was that another act would have to be -written by "all of us together." - -I know that many people in this country have seen the Irish Players and -felt their work was a great contribution to the drama, but I doubt if -any one here can realize what it means to see upon the stage a play -dealing with your hopes and fears just at a time when one or the other -are about to be realized. For ten years the world has watched with -interest as these plays were staged, as poetry appeared which seemed to -have a new note in it. The world called it a "Celtic Revival." England, -too, was interested, for these Irish playwrights, poets, and painters -served to stimulate her own artists. What if some of the sagas, revived -by archæologists, _did_ picture Irish heroism? What if the theme of play -or poem _was_ a free Ireland? What if school-boys under a Gaelic name -_did_ play at soldiering? - -"Dangerous?" some one asked. - -"Nonsense!" retorted mighty England. "Would poets, pedagogues, and -dreamers dare to lead the Irish people against the imperial power that -had dominated them for centuries? Unthinkable!" - -England has never understood us so little as in these last ten years. -Our pride was growing tremendously--pride not in what we _have_, but in -what we _are_. The Celtic Revival was only an expression of this new -pride. - -It was on the eighteenth of April that a member of the Dublin town -council discovered that the British meant to seize all arms and -ammunition of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army. History was -repeating itself. It was on an eighteenth of April that American -colonists discovered the British intention of seizing _their_ arms and -ammunition at Concord. In both cases revolt was made inevitable by this -action. - -What the reason was that led immediately to such an order being given to -the British military authorities in Dublin, I do not know. It had to do -with conscription, of course, and it may have been quickened by the -resistance of the Irish Citizen Army to the police. Madam told me that, -a short time before, the police had attempted one noon to raid Liberty -Hall while they supposed the place was empty. By the merest accident, -she and Mr. Connolly, with one or two others, were still there. The -object of the raid was to get possession of the press on which was -printed "The Workers' Republic," a paper published at the hall by Mr. -Connolly. - -When the first members of the police force entered, Connolly asked them -if they had a warrant. They had none. He told them they could not come -in without one. At the same time the countess quietly drew her revolver -and as quietly pointed it in their direction in a playful manner. They -understood her, however, and quickly withdrew to get their warrant. - -Immediately Connolly sent an order for the Citizen Army to mobilize. How -they came! On the run, slipping into uniform coats as they ran; several -from the tops of buildings where they were at work, others from -underground. More than one, thinking this an occasion of some -seriousness, instantly threw up their jobs. - -By the time the police returned with their warrant, the Irish Citizen -Army was drawn up around Liberty Hall, ready to defend it. It was not -raided. - -Mr. Connolly showed me a copy of the secret order when I arrived on -Holy Thursday. It read: - - - The following precautionary measures have been sanctioned by the - Irish Office on recommendation of the General Officer commanding - the forces in Ireland. All preparations will be made to put these - measures in force immediately on receipt of an order issued from - the Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle, and signed by the - Under Secretary and the General Officer commanding the forces in - Ireland. - - First, the following persons will be put under arrest: All members - of the Sinn Fein National Council, the Central Executive Irish Sinn - Fein Volunteer County Board, Irish Sinn Fein Volunteers, Executive - Committee National Volunteers, Coisda Gnotha Committee, Gaelic - League. See list A3 and 4, and supplementary list A2. - - -I interrupt the order to emphasize the fact that we were all listed, and -that the "Sinn Fein" organization seemed to attract most attention from -the authorities. Indeed, after it was all over, the rising was often -called the "Sinn Fein Revolt." The Sinn Fein was an organization which -had become a menace to Great Britain because of its tactics of _passive -resistance_. The words Sinn Fein, as already stated, mean "ourselves -alone," and the whole movement was for an Irish Ireland. - -The Sinn Feiners are likened to the "Black Hand" or other anarchistic -groups by those who read of them as leaders of a "revolt." As a matter -of fact, they were, from the first, the literary, artistic, and economic -personalities who started the Celtic Revival. Arthur Griffiths, who is -not given enough credit for the passion with which he conceived the idea -of working for Ireland as Hungarians worked for Hungary, published a -little weekly magazine in which the first of the new poetry appeared. It -appealed to the deepest instincts in us; it was a revolt of the spirit, -clothing itself in practical deed. - -But it was not a negative program. The refusal to do or say or think in -the Anglicized way, as was expected of us, held in it loyalty to -something fine and free, the existence of which we believed in because -we had read of it in the history of Ireland in our sagas. We were not a -people struggling up into an untried experience, but a people regaining -our kingdom, which at one time in the history of mankind had been called -"great" wherever it was known of or rumored. - -This was the feeling that animated the groups listed by British military -men as the "Sinn Fein National Council" and "Central Executive and -Coisda Gnotha Committee of the Gaelic League," but which to an outsider -cannot, without explanation, give any idea of the fire and fervor -implanted in committee and council. - -But to return to the document. It went on: - - - An order will be issued to the inhabitants of the city to remain in - their homes until such time as the Competent Military Authority may - otherwise direct and permit. - - Pickets chosen from units of Territorial Forces will be at all - points marked on maps 3 and 4. Accompanying mounted patrols will - continuously visit all points and report every hour. - - The following premises will be occupied by adequate forces and all - necessary measures used without need of reference to Headquarters: - - - First, premises known as Liberty Hall, Beresford Place; - No. 6 Harcourt Street, Sinn Fein Building; - No. 2 Dawson Street, Headquarters Volunteers; - No. 12 D'Olier Street, Nationality Office; - No. 25 Rutland Square, Gaelic League office; - No. 41 Rutland Square, Foresters' Hall; - Sinn Fein Volunteer premises in city; - All National Volunteer premises in city; - Trades Council premises, Capel Street; - Surrey House, Leinster Road, Rathmines. - - - The following premises will be isolated, all communication to or - from them prevented: Premises known as the Archbishop's House, - Drumcondra; Mansion House, Dawson Street; No. 40 Herbert Park, - Ballyboden; Saint Enda's College, Hermitage, Rathfarnham; and, in - addition, premises in list 5 D, see maps 3 and 4. - - -This order should become a classic, because it is such a good list of -all meeting-places of those who loved and worked for Ireland in the last -few years. Even the home of the countess, Surrey House, was to have been -occupied; and Saint Enda's, the school where Padraic Pearse was head -master and chief inspiration, was to be "isolated." - -Had there been any question about a rising, the possession of this -secret order to the military authorities in Dublin would have been the -signal for it. It was not to be expected that these headquarters of all -that was Irish in the city would surrender tamely to "occupation." More -than this, the order gave new determination to a secret organization not -mentioned in it, the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Not that this was a -new organization, or unknown to the British, for, in its several phases, -it had been in existence since 1858. Its oath is secret, yet has been -published in connection with disclosures about the Fenian movement. This -was one of the names it bore, before the rising of 1867 betrayed it to -the Government. So at this time Connolly and Padraic Pearse and -McDonagh, with all those working to free Ireland, were members of this -brotherhood, and the republic seemed nearer becoming a reality than -ever before in the history of the long struggle. - -At Liberty Hall I saw the flag of the republic waiting to be raised. I -saw, too, the bombs and ammunition stored there, and was set to work -with some other girls making cartridges. This was on the Thursday before -Easter. That same evening I was given a despatch to take to Belfast. The -address of the man to whom it was to be delivered was at Mr. Connolly's -home in the outskirts of the city. I was to go there first and get it -from Nora Connolly, then go on to this man. - -I had never been in Belfast, and when I reached the city, it was two -o'clock in the morning. The streets were dark and deserted. I finally -had to ask a policeman which of the few cars running would take me to -that part of town where the Connollys lived. I wonder what he would -have done had he guessed I was bent upon revolutionary business. There -is something very weird in knowing that while things are going on as -usual in the outer world, great changes are coming unawares. - -I rang in vain when I reached the house. Could all the family be -somewhere else? Could I have made a mistake? I was beginning to think so -when a window opened, and I heard a voice say: "It's all right, Mother. -It's only a girl." Presently the door opened. They had been afraid that -it was the police, for in these last few days before the time set, -suspense was keen. At any moment all plans might be given away to the -police and every one arrested. A ring in the middle of the night was -terrifying. They had not been to bed; they were making Red Cross -bandages and learning details of equipment and uniform for the -first-aid girls. They had slept little for days, now that the time of -the rising approached. - -We did not dare go out again in the dead of night to hunt up the man for -whom I had brought my despatch. This action would create suspicion. So -about five o'clock, just when the working-people were beginning to go -about their tasks, we took the street car, went into another part of -Belfast, and found him. - -Mrs. Connolly and the girls went back to Dublin with me. They were to be -there during the revolt, and did not know if they would ever see their -home again; but they dared not take anything with them except the -clothes on their backs. Always no suspicion must be aroused; it must -look as if they were starting off for the Easter holidays. This was not -an easy leave-taking, for there was a fair chance of the house being -sacked and burned. Mrs. Connolly went about, picking up little things -that would go in her trunk but the absence of which would not be noticed -if any inquisitive policeman came in to see whether anything suspicious -was going on. As we left, none of them looked back or gave any show of -feeling. Revolution makes brave actors. - -That afternoon I was again at ammunition work. This time my duty was to -go about Dublin, taking from hiding-places dynamite and bombs secreted -therein. Once, on my way back to Liberty Hall with some dynamite wrapped -in a neat bundle on the seat beside me, I heard a queer, buzzing noise. -It seemed to come from inside the bundle. - -"Is it going off?" I asked myself, and sat tight, expecting every moment -to be blown to bits. But nothing happened; it was only the car-wheels -complaining as we passed over an uneven bit of track. - - - - -V - - -It was on Saturday morning that I heard the news of our first defeat--a -defeat before we had begun. The ship with arms and ammunition that had -been promised us while I was in Dublin at Christmas, had come into -Tralee Harbor and waited twenty-one hours for the Irish Volunteers of -Tralee to come and unload her. But it had attracted no attention except -from a British patrol-boat, and so had to turn about and put to sea -again. Thereupon, the suspicions of the officials having led them to set -out after the _Aud_, she had shown her German colors and, in full sight -of the harbor, blew herself up rather than allow her valuable cargo to -fall into the hands of the British. - -Besides several machine-guns, twenty thousand rifles and a million -rounds of ammunition were aboard that ship. For every one of those -rifles we could have won a man to carry it in the rebellion. Thus their -loss was an actual loss of fighting strength. - -It all was a blunder that now seems like fate. The _Aud_, as first -planned, was to arrive on Good Friday. Then the leaders decided it would -be better not to have her arrive until after the rising had begun, or on -Easter. Word of this decision was sent to America, to be forwarded to -Germany. This was done, but the _Aud_ had just sailed, keeping to her -original schedule. She carried no wireless, and so could not be reached -at sea. - -I often think the heroic determination of that captain to sink his ship -and crew must have been preceded by many hours of bitterest chagrin and -anxiety. He could not have had the slightest idea why the plan was not -being carried out. It would have been, too, had the Volunteers at -Tralee, remembering the uncertainty of all communication, been on watch -for fear the countermanding order might have miscarried. - -But it was too late now to draw back, even had the leaders so desired. I -do not believe that idea ever entered their heads, for their course of -action had been long planned. Two men, however, were uncertain of the -wisdom of going on with it. One of them, The O'Rahilly, was minister of -munitions in the provisional government and felt the loss keenly, -because his entire plan of work had been based on this cargo now at the -bottom of the ocean. When he found that the majority believed success -was still possible, and that the seizure of arms in the British arsenals -in Ireland would compensate for the loss, he gave in and worked as -wholeheartedly as the others. The second man to demur was Professor Eoin -McNeill, who was at the head of the Irish Volunteers as their -commander-in-chief. He did not wish to risk the lives of his men against -such heavy odds. Yet, when he left the conference, he had not given one -hint of actually opposing plans then under discussion. - -As I came out of church on Easter morning, I saw placards everywhere to -this effect: - - - NO VOLUNTEER MANOEUVERS - TO-DAY - - -This was astounding! The manoeuvers were to be the beginning of the -revolution. To-day they were not to be the usual, simple drill, but the -real beginning of military action. All over Ireland the Volunteers were -expected to mobilize and stay mobilized until the blow had been -struck--until, perhaps, victory had been won. And the Irish Volunteers -made up two thirds of our fighting force. "No Volunteer manoeuvers -to-day"? What could it mean? - -I bought a newspaper and read the order of demobilization, signed by -Professor McNeill. What could have happened? I hurried to Liberty Hall -to find the leaders there as much in the dark as I. They knew McNeill -had been depressed and fearful of results, but they had not supposed him -capable of actually calling off his men from the movement so late in the -day, though this was quite within his technical rights if he wished. -They had taken for granted that he, like The O'Rahilly, would prefer to -cast in his lot with the rest of us. I recalled that at Christmas the -countess had been eager to have another head chosen for the Volunteers. -Over and over again she had said that, though McNeill had been splendid -for purposes of organization, and the presence of so earnest and pacific -a man in command of the Volunteers had prevented England from getting -nervous, he was not the man for a crisis. She liked him, but her -intuition proved right. He could not bear that his Irish Volunteers -should risk their lives and gain nothing thereby. He truly believed they -had no chance without the help the _Aud_ had promised. As soon as he had -published his demobilization order, he went to his home outside Dublin -and stayed there during the rising. It was there he was arrested and, -though his action so helped the British that the royal commission -afterward said he "broke the back of the rebellion," he was sentenced -for life, and sits to-day in Dartmoor Prison making sacks. This is the -man who was one of our greatest authorities on early Irish history. - -There never was a hint of suspicion that McNeill's act was other than -the result of fear. No one who knew him could doubt his loyalty to -Ireland. It was his love for the Volunteers, the love of a man -instinctively pacifist, that made him give that order. Oh, the satire of -history! By such an order, many of us believe, he delivered to the -executioner the flower of Ireland's heart and brain. We believe that if -those manoeuvers had taken place at the time set, the British arsenals -in Ireland would easily have been taken and arms provided for our men. -Indeed, we would rather have taken arms and ammunition from the British -than have accepted them as gifts from other people. - -The eternal buoyancy with which Irishmen are credited came to their -rescue that Sunday morning. Mr. Connolly and others believed that if -word was sent into the country districts that the Citizen Army was -proceeding with its plans, that the Volunteers of Dublin, consisting of -four battalions under Padraic Pearse and Thomas McDonaugh, were going to -mobilize, the response would be immediate. At once word was sent out -broadcast. Norah Connolly walked eighty miles during the week through -the country about Dublin, carrying orders from headquarters. But she, -like other messengers, found that the Volunteers were so accustomed to -McNeill's signature that they were afraid to act without it. They -feared a British trick. We Irish are so schooled in suspicion that it -sometimes counts against us. In Galway they had heard that the rising in -Dublin was on, and later put up such a fight that, had it been seconded -in other counties by even a few groups, the republic would have lived -longer than it did. It might even have won the victory in which, only -three days before, we all had faith. - -The Volunteers numbered men from every class and station; the Citizen -Army was made up of working-men who had the advantage of being under a -man of decision and quick judgment. At four o'clock the Citizen Army -mobilized in front of Liberty Hall to carry out the route march as -planned. After this march the men were formed into a hollow square in -front of Liberty Hall and Connolly addressed them. - -"You are now under arms," he concluded. "You will not lay down your -arms until you have struck a blow for Ireland!" - -The men cheered, shots were fired into the air, and that night their -barracks was Liberty Hall. - -You might think a demonstration of this character, a speech in the open, -would attract enough attention from the police to make them send a -report to the authorities. None was sent. They had come to feel, I -suppose, that while there was so much talk there would be little action. -Nor did they remember that Easter is always the anniversary of that -fight hundreds of years ago when native Irish came to drive the -foreigner from Dublin. This year, in addition, it fell upon the date of -the Battle of Clontarf, so there was double reason for sentiment to -seize upon the day for a revolt. - -During the night, Irishmen from England and Scotland who had been -encamped at Kimmage with some others, came into Dublin and joined the -men at Liberty Hall. Next morning I saw them while they were drawn up, -waiting for orders. Every man carried a rifle and a pike! Those pikes -were admission of our loss through the sinking of the _Aud_, for the men -who carried them might have been shouldering additional rifles to give -to any recruits picked up during the course of the day. Pikes would not -appeal to an unarmed man as a fit weapon with which to meet British -soldiers in battle. We could have used every one of those twenty -thousand lost rifles, for they would have made a tremendous appeal. - -I was sent on my bicycle to scout about the city and report if troops -from any of the barracks were stirring. They were not. Moreover, I -learned that their officers, for the most part, were off to the races at -Fairview in the gayest of moods. - -When I returned to report to Mr. Connolly, I had my first glimpse of -Padraic Pearse, provisional president of the Irish Republic. He was a -tall man, over six feet, with broad shoulders slightly stooped from long -hours as a student and writer. But he had a soldierly bearing and was -very cool and determined, I thought, for a man on whom so much -responsibility rested,--at the very moment, too, when his dream was -about to take form. Thomas McDonagh was also there. I had not seen him -before in uniform, and he, too, gave me the impression that our Irish -scholars must be soldiers at bottom, so well did he appear in his green -uniform. At Christmas he had given me a fine revolver. It would be one -of my proudest possessions if I had it now, but it was confiscated by -the British. - -[Illustration: JAMES CONNOLLY] - -I was next detailed as despatch rider for the St. Stephen's Green -Command. Again I went out to scout, this time for Commandant Michael -Mallin. If I did not find the military moving, I was to remain at the -end of the Green until I should see our men coming in to take -possession. There were no soldiers in sight; only a policeman standing -at the far end of the Green doing nothing. He paid no attention to me; I -was only a girl on a bicycle. But I watched him closely. It was -impossible to believe that neither the police nor the military -authorities were on guard. But this chap stood about idly and was the -last policeman I saw until after the rising was over. They seemed to -vanish from the streets of Dublin. Even to-day no one can tell you where -they went. - -It was a great moment for me, as I stood there, when, between the -budding branches of trees, I caught sight of men in dark green uniforms -coming along in twos and threes to take up their position in and about -the Green and at the corners of streets leading into it. There were only -thirty-six altogether, whereas the original plan had been for a hundred. -That was one of the first effects of Eoin McNeill's refusal to join us. -But behind them I could see, in the spring sunlight, those legions of -Irish who made their fight against as heavy or heavier odds and who, -though they died, had left us their dream to make real. Perhaps this -time-- - -At last all the men were standing ready, awaiting the signal. In every -part of Dublin similar small groups were waiting for the hour to strike. -The revolution had begun! - - - - -VI - - -To the British, I am told, there was something uncanny about the -suddenness with which the important centers of Dublin's life were -quietly seized at noon on Easter Monday by groups of calm, determined -men in green uniforms. - -They were not merely surprised; they were frightened. The superstitious -element in their fear was great, too. It had always been so. When -Kitchener was drowned off the Irish coast, a man I know, an Irishman, -spoke of it to an English soldier. - -"Yes; you and your damned rosaries!" retorted the soldier, looking -frightened even as he said it. - -The British seem to feel we are in league with unearthly powers against -which they have no protection. On Easter Monday they believed that -behind this sudden decision, as it appeared to them, something dark and -sinister was lurking. How else would we dare to revolt against the -British Empire? It was as if our men were not flesh and blood, but -spirits summoned up by their own bad conscience to take vengeance for -many centuries of misrule. It must have been some such feeling that -accounted for the way they lost, at the very outset, all their usual -military calm and ruthlessness. - -We recognized this feeling, and it made our men stronger in spirit. We -were convinced of the justice of our cause, convinced that even dying -was a small matter compared with the privilege we now shared of fighting -for that cause. Besides, there was no traitor in our ranks. No one had -whispered a word of our plans to the British authorities. That is one -reason why our memory of Easter Week has in it something finer than the -memory of any other rising in the past. You must bear in mind that the -temptation to betray the rising must have been just as strong, that it -had in it just as much guarantee of security for the future, as -heretofore. Yet no one yielded to this temptation. Even more amazing was -the fact that the authorities had not paid any heed to those utterances -which for months past had been highly seditious. For instance, here is -what Padraic Pearse stated openly in one of his articles: - - - I am ready. For years I have waited and prayed for this day. We - have the most glorious opportunity that has ever presented itself - of really asserting ourselves. Such an opportunity will never come - again. We have Ireland's liberty in our hands. Or are we content to - remain as slaves and idly watch the final extermination of the - Gael? - - -Nothing could be more outspoken or direct. When it is remembered that -England's enemies have always been regarded as Ireland's allies; that an -English war, wherever fought, is a signal for us to rise once more, no -matter how many defeats we have suffered, it might have been supposed -the British, stationed in such numbers in and around Dublin, would not -have been put to sleep by what must have seemed, to the wary observer, -an acute attack of openness and a vigorous interest in military affairs. -There were some, of course, among the police and officials who made -their reports of "highly seditious" meetings and writings, but I suppose -the authorities did not believe we would strike. From America they -learned of aid to come by ship when Igel's papers were seized by United -States authorities. It may have been this information that put the -English patrol-boats on their guard in Tralee Harbor. It even may have -been thought that when that ship went down the rising was automatically -ended. So it might have been had our revolt been "made in Germany," but -it must be remembered that it was the Irish who approached the Germans. -Thus there was no anxiety in Dublin that Easter Monday except as to -which horse would win the Fairview races. - -As soon as our men were in position in St. Stephen's Green, I rode off -down Leeson Street toward the Grand Canal to learn if the British -soldiers were now leaving Beggar's Bush or the Portobello barracks. -Everything remained quiet. That signified to me that our men had taken -possession of the post-office for headquarters and of all other premises -decided on in the revised plan of strategy adapted to a much smaller -army. - -The names of these places do not sound martial. Jacob's Biscuit Factory, -Boland's Bakery, Harcourt Street Railway Station, and Four Courts are -common enough, but each had been chosen for the strategic advantage it -would give those defending Dublin with a few men against a great number. -The Dublin & Southeastern Railway yards, for example, gave control of -the approach from Kingstown where, it was expected, the English coming -over to Ireland would land. - -Again I was sent out to learn if the Harcourt Street Station had been -occupied by our men. This had been done, and already telegraph wires -there, as well as elsewhere, had been cut to isolate Dublin. Telephone -wires were cut, too, but one was overlooked. By that wire word of the -rising reached London much sooner than otherwise would have been the -case. But here again, the wonder is not that something had been -overlooked, but that so much was accomplished. By the original plan, -volunteers were told off to do this wire-cutting and the hundred and one -things necessary to a revolt taking place in a city like Dublin. When -this work was redistributed to one third the original number of men, it -was hard to be certain that those who had never _drilled_ for the kind -of task assigned them could do it at all. This insurrection had been all -but rehearsed, during those months when it was being worked out on -paper, by daily and weekly drills. - -Upon my return, I found our men intrenching themselves in St. Stephen's -Green. All carried tools with which to dig themselves in, and shrubbery -was used to protect the trenches. Motorcars and drays passing the Green -were commandeered, too, to form a barricade. Much to the bewilderment of -their occupants, who had no warning that anything was amiss in Dublin, -the men in green uniforms would signal them to stop. Except in one -instance, they did so quickly enough. Then they were told to get out. An -experienced chauffeur among our men would jump in at once and drive the -car to a position where it was needed. The occupants would stand for a -moment aghast, then take to their heels. One drayman refused his cart -and persisted in his refusal, not believing it when our men told him -this was war. He was shot. Two British officers were taken prisoners in -one of the autos. We could not afford men to stand guard over them, but -we took good care of them. Afterward they paid us the tribute of saying -that we obeyed all the rules of war. - -Commandant Mallin gave me my first despatch to carry to headquarters at -the general post-office. As I crossed O'Connell Street, I had to ride -through great crowds of people who had gathered to hear Padraic Pearse -read the proclamation of the republic at the foot of Nelson's Pillar. -They had to scatter when the Fifth Lancers--the first of the military -forces to learn that insurgents had taken possession of the -post-office--rode in among them to attack the post-office. - -[Illustration: POBLACHT NA H EIREANN. - - THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT - OF THE - IRISH REPUBLIC - TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND. - -IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN In the name of God and of the dead generations -from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood. Ireland, -through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her -freedom. - -Having organised and trained her manhood through her secret -revolutionary organisation, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and -through her open military organisations, the Irish Volunteers and the -Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her discipline, having -resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes -that moment, and, supported by her exiled children in America and by -gallant allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, -she strikes in full confidence of victory. - -We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of -Ireland, and to the unfettered control 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, nor can it -ever be extinguished except by the destruction of 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, -or 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. - -Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment -of a permanent National Government, representative of the whole people -of Ireland and elected by the suffrages of all her men and women, the -Provisional Government, hereby constituted, will administer the civil -and military affairs of the Republic in trust for the people. - -We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the -Most High God, Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that -no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, -or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and -discipline and by 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. - -THE PROCLAMATION OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC - -(All of its signers were executed)] - -Nothing can give one a better idea of how demoralized the British were -by the first news of the rising than to learn that they sent cavalry to -attack a fortified building. Men on horseback stood no chance against -rifle-fire from the windows of the post-office. It must be said in -extenuation, however, that it probably was because this cavalry -detachment had just convoyed some ammunition-wagons to a place not far -from O'Connell Street, and so were sent to "scatter" men who, they -supposed, could be put to flight by the mere appearance of regulars on -horseback. - -When I reached the open space in front of the post-office, I saw two or -three men and horses lying in the street, killed by the first volley -from the building. It was several days before these horses were taken -away, and there was something in the sight of the dumb beasts that hurt -me every time I had to pass them. It may sound harsh when I say that the -thought of British soldiers being killed in the same way did not awaken -similar feelings. That is because for many centuries we have been -harassed by men in British uniform. They have become to us symbols of a -power that seems to delight in tyranny. - -Even while I was cycling toward the post-office, the crowd had -reassembled to watch the raising of the flag of the Irish Republic. As -the tricolor--green, white, and orange--appeared above the roof of the -post-office, a salute was fired. A few days later, while it was still -waving, James Connolly wrote: "For the first time in seven hundred years -the flag of a free Ireland floats triumphantly over Dublin City!" - -Mr. Connolly and a few of his officers came out to look at it as it -waved up there against the sky. I saw an old woman go up to him and, -bending her knee, kiss his hand. Indeed, the people loved and trusted -him. - -Inside the post-office our men were busy putting things to right after -the lancers' attack. They were getting ready for prolonged resistance. -Window-panes were smashed, and barricades set up to protect men who soon -would be shooting from behind them. Provisions were brought over from -Liberty Hall, where they had long been stored against this day. But what -impressed me most was the way the men went at it, as though this was the -usual sort of thing to be doing and all in the day's work. There was no -sign of excitement, but there was a tenseness, a sense of expectancy, a -kind of exaltation, that was almost more than I could bear. - -I delivered my despatch, and was given another to carry back to -Commandant Mallin. Crowds were still in O'Connell Street when I left on -my errand. They were always there when bullets were not flying, and -always seemed in sympathy with the men in the post-office. I found this -same sympathy all over the city wherever I went. Even when men would not -take guns and join us, they were friendly. - -The soldiers from Portobello barracks were sent out twice on Monday to -attack our position in St. Stephen's Green. The first time was at noon, -before we were completely intrenched. They had gone only as far as -Portobello Bridge, but a few rods from the barracks, when they were -fired on from the roof of Davies's public-house just the other side of -the bridge. Our rifle-fire was uninterrupted, and a number of the -soldiers fell. They probably thought they were dealing with a -considerable force, for they did not advance until the firing ceased or -until word was brought to the _three men_ on the roof that we were -securely intrenched. Even then they did not come on to attack us, but -went somewhere else in the city. - -At six o'clock that evening, just when it was beginning to grow dusk, on -my way back from the post-office I noticed that the crowd of curious -civilians who had been hanging about the Green all day had quite -disappeared. The next thing I saw was two persons hurrying away from the -Green. These were Town Councilor Partridge and the countess. They came -to a halt in the street just ahead of me. Then I saw the British -soldiers coming up Harcourt Street! - -The countess stood motionless, waiting for them to come near. She was a -lieutenant in the Irish Volunteers and, in her officer's uniform and -black hat with great plumes, looked most impressive. At length she -raised her gun to her shoulder--it was an "automatic" over a foot long, -which she had converted into a short rifle by taking out the wooden -holster and using it as a stock--and took aim. Neither she nor Partridge -noticed me as I came up behind them. I was quite close when they fired. -The shots rang out at the same moment, and I saw the two officers -leading the column drop to the street. As the countess was taking aim -again, the soldiers, without firing a shot, turned and ran in great -confusion for their barracks. The whole company fled as fast as they -could from _two_ people, one of them a woman! When you consider, -however, that for years these soldiers had been going about Dublin as if -they owned it; that now they did not know from what house or street -corner they might be fired upon by men in green uniforms, it is not to -be wondered at that they were temporarily demoralized. - -As we went back to the Green, Madam told me of the attempt made that -morning by herself, Sean Connolly, and ten others to enter Dublin Castle -and plant the flag of the Irish republic on the roof of that stronghold -of British power in Ireland. There always is a considerable military -force housed in the castle, but so completely were they taken by -surprise that for a few moments it seemed as if the small group would -succeed in entering. It was only when their leader, Sean Connolly, was -shot dead that the attempt was abandoned. It seemed to me particularly -fitting that Madam had been a member of this party, for she belonged by -"right of birth" to those who always were invited to social affairs at -the castle. Yet she had long refused to accept these invitations, and -had taken the side of those who hoped for the ultimate withdrawal of -those Dublin Castle hosts. - -Immediately after this gallant attempt, which might have succeeded had -it taken place on Sunday with the number of men originally intended, -Madam returned to St. Stephen's Green and alone and single-handed took -possession of the College of Surgeons. This is a big, square, granite -building on the west side of the Green. It was, as we later discovered, -impregnable. For all impression they made, the machine-gun bullets with -which the British soldiers peppered it for five days might have been -dried peas. - -The countess, fortunately, had met with no resistance. She walked up the -steps, rang the bell, and, when no one answered, fired into the lock -and entered. The flag we flew from the roof of the building was a small -one I had brought on my bicycle from headquarters. - - - - -VII - - -We were all happy that night as we camped in St. Stephen's Green. -Despite the handicap we were under through lack of men, almost -everything was going our way. It was a cold, damp night. The first-aid -and despatch-girls of our command went into a summer-house for shelter. -It had no walls, but there was a floor to lie upon, and a roof. I slept -at once and slept heavily. - -Madam was not so fortunate. She was too tired and excited to sleep. -Instead, she walked about, looking for some sheltered place and, to get -out of the wind, tried lying down in one of the trenches. But the ground -was much too chilly, so she walked about until she noticed the -motor-car of her friend, Dr. Katherine Lynn, seized that morning for the -barricade. She climbed in, found a rug, and went to sleep in comparative -comfort. When morning came she could not forgive herself for having -slept there all night while the rest of us remained outdoors. She had -intended to get up after an hour or two of it and make one of us take -her place. She did not waken, however, till she heard the hailing of -machine-gun bullets on the roof of the car. The girls in the -summer-house, with the exception of myself, were awakened at the same -moment in the same way, and ran for safety behind one of the -embankments. It seems the British had taken possession of a hotel at one -side of the Green--the Hotel Shelbourne--and had placed a machine-gun on -the roof. At four o'clock in the morning they began firing. - -The chill I was having woke me, but I quickly followed the others to -their hiding-place. From the first we were aware that had we taken -possession of all buildings around the Green, according to our original -plan, this morning salute of the British would have been impossible. As -it was, our intrenchments and barricades proved of no avail. We realized -at once we should have to evacuate the Green and retire into the College -of Surgeons. - -Commandant Mallin sent me with a despatch to headquarters. He recognized -immediately that a regiment could not hold the Green against a -machine-gun on a tall building that could rake our position easily. - -As soon as I returned, I was sent away again to bring in sixteen men -guarding the Leeson Street bridge. If we abandoned the Green before -they could join us, they would be cut off and in great danger. As I rode -along on my bicycle, I had my first taste of the risks of -street-fighting. Soldiers on top of the Hotel Shelbourne aimed their -machine-gun directly at me. Bullets struck the wooden rim of my bicycle -wheels, puncturing it; others rattled on the metal rim or among the -spokes. I knew one might strike me at any moment, so I rode as fast as I -could. My speed saved my life, and I was soon out of range around a -corner. I was not exactly frightened nor did I feel aware of having -shown any special courage. My anxiety for the men I was to bring in -filled my mind, for though I was out of range, unless we could find a -roundabout way to the College of Surgeons seventeen of us would be under -fire. To make matters worse, the men were on foot. - -After I reached this group and gave the order for their return, I -scouted ahead up streets I knew would bring us back safely to the -college, unless already guarded by the British. It was while I was -riding ahead of them that I had fresh evidence of the friendliness of -the people. Two men presently approached me. They stepped out into the -street and said quietly: - -"All is safe ahead." - -I rode back, told the guard, and we moved on more rapidly. At another -spot a woman leaned out of her window just as I was passing. "You are -losing your revolver," she called to me. - -She may have saved my life by that warning, for my revolver had torn its -way through the pocket of my raincoat, and, in another moment, would -have fallen to the ground. Had it been discharged, the result might -have been fatal. - -As we came to the College of Surgeons and were going in by a side door, -the men were just retiring from the Green. Since every moment counted, I -had ridden ahead to report to Commandant Mallin, and while he stood -listening to me, a bullet whizzed through his hat. He took it off, -looked at it without comment, and put it on again. Evidently the -machine-gun was still at work. - -One of our boys was killed before we got inside the College of Surgeons. -Had the British gunners been better trained for their task, we might -have lost more, for we were completely at their mercy from the moment -they began to fire at dawn until the big door of the college closed, and -we took up the defense of our new position in the great stone fortress. - -Every time I left the college, I was forced to run the gauntlet of this -machine-gun. I blessed the enemy's bad marksmanship several times a day. -To be sure, they tried hard enough to hit something. Once that day I saw -them shooting at our first-aid girls, who made excellent targets in -their white dresses, with large red crosses on them. It was a miracle -that none of them was wounded. Bullets passed through one girl's skirt, -and another girl had the heel of her shoe shot off. If I myself had not -seen this happen, I could not have believed that British soldiers would -disobey the rules of war concerning the Red Cross. - -Mr. Connolly had issued orders that no soldier was to be shot who did -not have arms, and he did not consider the side-arms they always -carried as "arms." My revolver had been given me for self-defense in -case I fell into the hands of any soldiers. I confess that, though I -never used it, I often felt tempted when I saw British soldiers going -along in twos and threes, bent on shooting any of our men. I was not in -uniform, however, and had had orders not to shoot except thus clothed -and so a member of the Republican Army. - -Some of the streets I had to ride through were as quiet and peaceful as -if there was no thought of revolution in Dublin, but in others I could -hear now and then scattered shots from around some corner. It was more -than likely that snipers were trying to hold up a force of British on -their way to attack one of our main positions. Sometimes I would hear -the rattle of a machine-gun, and this warned me that I was approaching -a house where the enemy was raking a position held by our men. -Generally, however, it was the complete and death-like emptiness of a -street that warned me I was close to a scene of hot fighting. This was -not always so, for there were times when the curiosity of the crowd got -the better of its caution, and it would push dangerously near the -shooting. - -Several days elapsed before the people of Dublin became fully aware of -the meaning of what was going on. Riots are not rare, and this might -well seem to many of them only rioting on a large scale, with some new -and interesting features. The poor of Dublin have never been appeased -with bread or circuses by the British authorities. They have had to be -content with starvation and an occasional street disturbance. But little -by little, as I rode along, I could detect a change in attitude. Some -became craven and disappeared; in others, it seemed that at last their -souls might come out of hiding and face the day. - -The spirit at the post-office was always the same--quiet, cheerful, and -energetic. I used to stand at the head of the great central staircase -waiting for answers to my despatches and could see the leaders as they -went to and fro through the corridor. Padraic Pearse impressed me by his -natural air of command. He was serious, but not troubled, not even when -he had to ask for men from the Citizen Army to eke out the scant numbers -of his Volunteers for some expedition. No one had thought it would be -that way, for the Volunteers were originally two to one compared with -the Citizen Army. Recruits were coming in every day, but at the most -there were not fifteen hundred men against twenty thousand British -soldiers stationed in or near Dublin. - -Whenever there came a lull in business or fighting, the men would begin -to sing either rebel songs or those old lays dear to Irishmen the world -over. And sometimes they knelt in prayer, Protestants and Catholics side -by side. From the very beginning there was a sense of the religious -character in what we were doing. This song and prayer at the post-office -were all natural, devoid of self-consciousness. A gay song would follow -a solemn prayer, and somehow was not out of harmony with it. - -One source of inspiration at the post-office was "old Tom Clarke," who -had served fifteen years for taking part in the rising of sixty-seven. -His pale, worn face showed the havoc wrought by that long term in an -English prison, but his spirit had not been broken. - -There was Jo Plunkett, too, pale and weak, having come directly from the -hospital where he had just undergone an operation. But he knew what -prestige his name would lend to this movement--a name famous for seven -hundred years in Irish history. He looked like death, and he met death a -few days later at the hands of the English. - -I talked about explosives one day with Sean McDermott and we went -together to consult a wounded chemist in a rear room to find out what -could be done with chemicals we had found at the College of Surgeons. -Sean McDermott was like a creature from another planet who had brought -his radiance with him to this one. Every one felt this and loved him for -the courage and sweetness he put into all he did. - -The O'Rahilly was another of the striking figures at the post-office. -He was known as one of the handsomest men in Ireland, and, in addition -to being head of a famous old clan, had large estates. He had given much -property to the cause, and now was risking his life for it. He was -killed on the last day of the fighting as he led a sortie into the -street at one side of the post-office. His last words were, "Good-by and -good luck to you!" He said those words to British prisoners he was -setting free because the post-office had caught fire and the game was -up. They afterward told of his kindness and care for them at a moment -when he himself was in the greatest possible danger. - -I can pass anywhere for a Scotch girl,--I have often had to since the -rising,--and friends will tell you I am hard-headed and practical, -without the least trace of mysticism. Yet, whenever I was in general -headquarters in the post-office, I felt, despite commonplace -surroundings and the din of fighting, an exalted calm that can be -possible only where men are giving themselves unreservedly and with -clear conscience to a great cause. - - - - -VIII - - -Singing "Soldiers are we whose lives are pledged to Ireland," we had -withdrawn from St. Stephen's Green into the College of Surgeons. Only -one of our men had been killed, yet this was a retreat, and we knew it. -If only we had had enough men to take possession of the Shelbourne -Hotel, we need not have yielded the Green. As it was, we wasted no time -in mourning, but went to work at once to make ourselves ready for a -siege that might last no one knew how long. - -Under orders from Commandant Mallin, some of the men began to cut -through the walls into adjoining buildings. Others went up on the roof -to use their rifles against the British soldiers on top of the -Shelbourne. Madam went about everywhere, seeking to find anything that -could be of use to us. She discovered sixty-seven rifles, with fifteen -thousand rounds of cartridges; also bandoliers and haversacks. All this -had belonged, no doubt, to the training corps of the College of -Surgeons, and would have been used against us had we not reached the -building first. - -On the ground floor of the big building were lecture-rooms and a museum; -up-stairs other class-rooms, laboratories, and the library. On the third -floor were the caretaker's rooms and a kitchen where our first-aid and -despatch-girls took possession and cooked for the others as long as -anything remained to cook. Lastly came the garret up under the roof. To -shoot from the roof itself quickly became impossible, since our men -were easy targets for the gunners on the Shelbourne. As soon as one of -our boys was wounded, we knew they had our range, and decided to cut -holes through and directly under the sloping roof. Here we could shoot -in perfect safety while remaining unseen. - -On Wednesday there was little despatch-bearing to do, so I stood around -watching the men up there at work. The countess realized my impatience -to be doing my bit, also my hesitation at putting myself forward to ask -for permission. Without saying anything to me, she went to Commandant -Mallin and told him she thought I could be of use under the roof. He -gave his permission at once, and she brought me the answer. - -Madam had had a fine uniform of green moleskin made for me. With her -usual generosity, she had mine made of better material than her own. It -consisted of kneebreeches, belted coat, and puttees. I slipped into this -uniform, climbed up astride the rafters, and was assigned a loophole -through which to shoot. It was dark there, full of smoke and the din of -firing, but it was good to be in action. I could look across the tops of -trees and see the British soldiers on the roof of the Shelbourne. I -could also hear their shot hailing against the roof and wall of our -fortress, for in truth this building was just that. More than once I saw -the man I aimed at fall. - -[Illustration: BELT BUCKLE] - -[Illustration: STAMPS ISSUED BY THE IRISH REPUBLIC] - -To those who have been following the Great War, reading of thousands and -hundreds of thousands attacking one another in open battle or in -mile-long trench-warfare, this exchange of shots between two buildings -across a Dublin green may seem petty. But to us there could be nothing -greater. Every shot we fired was a declaration to the world that -Ireland, a small country but large in our hearts, was demanding her -independence. We knew that all over Dublin, perhaps by this time all -over Ireland, other groups like ours were filled with the same -intensity, the same determination, to make the Irish Republic, no matter -how short-lived, a reality of which history would have to take account. -Besides, the longer we could keep our tricolor flying over the College -of Surgeons, the greater the chance that Irish courage would respond and -we should gain recruits. - -Whenever I was called down to carry a despatch, I took off my uniform, -put on my gray dress and hat, and went out the side door of the college -with my message. As soon as I returned, I slipped back into my uniform -and joined the firing-squad. - -There were a good many of the Fianna boys in the college with us. As -usual, their allegiance to Madam would not let them leave her. One of -them, Tommie Keenan of Camden Row, was only twelve years old, but was -invaluable. He would go out for food and medicine and, because he was so -little, never attracted attention, though he wore his green Fianna shirt -under his jacket. On Tuesday he came to the conclusion, perhaps with -Madam's aid, that he ought to go home and tell his parents what he was -doing. Commandant Mallin advised him, just before he left, to take off -his green shirt and not wear it again for a while. It was a day or more -before he returned, because his father had locked him in his room. We -sympathized with the father, for that was just what we had expected him -to do. But when a friend came along who promised to keep guard over -Tommy if he was allowed to go for a walk, the boy's chance came. Eluding -this friend, he ran the most roundabout way until he arrived where he -felt "duty" called him. - -The boy already referred to as nearly blind was with us, too. He pleaded -so hard to be allowed to use a rifle that the men finally put him at a -loophole, where he breathlessly fired shot after shot in the direction -of the hotel. Maybe the prayers he murmured gave him success. - -Our rations were short, but I do not remember that any one complained. I -for one had no appetite for more than a slice of bread or two a day, -with a cup of bouillon made from the cubes laid in as part of our -necessary ration. The two captured British officers had their meals -regularly whether any one else ate or not, and seemed grateful for it. - -Every evening fighting would quiet down, and the boys and men--about a -hundred, now, through recruits who had joined us--would gather in the -largest lecture-hall to sing under the leadership of Jo Connolly, whose -brother Sean had fallen the first day in front of Dublin Castle. I can -hear them even now: - - - "Armed for the battle, - Kneel we before Thee, - Bless Thou our banners, - God of the brave! - 'Ireland is living'-- - Shout we triumphant, - 'Ireland is waking-- - Hands grasp the sword!'" - - -They were singing this chant, written by the countess and set to some -Polish revolutionary air, on Wednesday evening. I was up-stairs, -studying a map of our surroundings and trying to find a way by which we -could dislodge the soldiers from the roof of the Hotel Shelbourne. When -Commandant Mallin came in, I asked him if he would let me go out with -one man and try to throw a bomb attached to an eight-second fuse through -the hotel window. I knew there was a bow-window on the side farthest -from us, which was not likely to be guarded. We could use our bicycles -and get away before the bomb exploded,--that is, if we were quick -enough. At any rate, it was worth trying, whatever the risk. - -Commandant Mallin agreed the plan was a good one, but much too -dangerous. I pointed out to him that it had been my speed which had -saved me so far from machine-gun fire on the hotel roof. It was not that -the British were doing us any real harm in the college, but it was high -time to take the aggressive, for success would hearten the men in other -"forts" who were not having as safe a time of it. He finally agreed, -though not at all willingly, for he did not want to let a woman run this -sort of risk. My answer to that argument was that we had the same right -to risk our lives as the men; that in the constitution of the Irish -Republic, women were on an equality with men. For the first time in -history, indeed, a constitution had been written that incorporated the -principle of equal suffrage. But the Commandant told me there was -another task to be accomplished before the hotel could be bombed. That -was to cut off the retreat of a British force which had planted a -machine-gun on the flat roof of University Church. It was against our -rules to use any church, Protestant or Catholic, in our defense, no -matter what advantage that might give us. But this church, close at -hand, had been occupied by the British and was cutting us off from -another command with whom it was necessary to keep in communication. In -order to cut off the retreat of these soldiers, it would be necessary to -burn two buildings. I asked the Commandant to let me help in this -undertaking. He consented, and gave me four men to help fire one -building, while another party went out to fire the other. It meant a -great deal to me that he should trust me with this piece of work, and I -felt elated. While I changed once more into my uniform, for the work of -war can only be done by those who wear its dress, I could still hear -them singing: - - - "Who fights for Ireland, - God guide his blows home! - Who dies for Ireland, - God give him peace! - Knowing our cause just, - March we victorious, - Giving our hearts' blood - Ireland to free!" - - - - -IX - - -It took only a few moments to reach the building we were to set afire. -Councilor Partridge smashed the glass door in the front of a shop that -occupied the ground floor. He did it with the butt of his rifle and a -flash followed. It had been discharged! I rushed past him into the -doorway of the shop, calling to the others to come on. Behind me came -the sound of a volley, and I fell. It was as I had on the instant -divined. That flash had revealed us to the enemy. - -"It's all over," I muttered, as I felt myself falling. But a moment -later, when I knew I was not dead, I was sure I should pull through. -Before another volley could be fired, Mr. Partridge lifted and carried -me into the street. There on the sidewalk lay a dark figure in a pool of -blood. It was Fred Ryan, a mere lad of seventeen, who had wanted to come -with us as one of the party of four. - -"We must take him along," I said. - -But it was no use; he was dead. - -With help, I managed to walk to the corner. Then the other man who had -stopped behind to set the building afire caught up with us. Between them -they succeeded in carrying me back to the College of Surgeons. - -As we came into the vestibule, Jo Connolly was waiting with his bicycle, -ready to go out with me to bomb the hotel. His surprise at seeing me -hurt was as if I had been out for a stroll upon peaceful streets and met -with an accident. - -They laid me on a large table and cut away the coat of my fine, new -uniform. I cried over that. Then they found I had been shot in three -places, my right side under the arm, my right arm, and in the back on my -right side. Had I not turned as I went through that shop-door to call to -the others, I would have got all three bullets in my back and lungs and -surely been done for. - -They had to probe several times to get the bullets, and all the while -Madam held my hand. But the probing did not hurt as much as she expected -it would. My disappointment at not being able to bomb the Hotel -Shelbourne was what made me unhappy. They wanted to send me to the -hospital across the Green, but I absolutely refused to go. So the men -brought in a cot, and the first-aid girls bandaged me, as there was no -getting a doctor that night. What really did distress me was my cough -and the pain in my chest. When I tried to keep from coughing, I made a -queer noise in my throat and noticed every one around me look -frightened. - -"It's no death-rattle," I explained, and they all had to laugh,--that -is, all laughed except Commandant Mallin. He said he could not forgive -himself as long as he lived for having let me go out on that errand. But -he did not live long, poor fellow! I tried to cheer him by pointing out -that he had in reality saved my life, since the bombing plan was much -more dangerous. - -Soon after I was brought in, the countess and Councilor Partridge -disappeared. When she returned to me, she said very quietly: - -"You are avenged, my dear." - -It seems they had gone out to where Fred Ryan lay, and Partridge, to -attract the fire of the soldiers across the street in the Sinn Fein -Bank, had stooped over the dead boy to lift him. There were only two -soldiers and they both fired. That gave Madam a chance to sight them. -She fired twice and killed both. - -They tell me that all next day I was delirious and lay moaning and -talking incoherently. It was not the bullets that brought me to this -pass, but pneumonia. Even so I am glad I was there and not at a -hospital. Later a doctor who was summoned made the mistake of using too -much corrosive sublimate on my wounds, and for once I knew what torture -is. The mistake took all the skin off my side and back. But Madam is a -natural nurse. Among her friends she was noted for her desire to care -for them if they fell ill. Some one was almost always in bed at Surrey -House; some friend whose eyes might be troubling her to whom the -countess would read aloud or apply soothing applications; a Fianna boy, -or an actress from the Abbey Theater who needed to build up her nerves. -Thus I was in good hands, and besides, following my instinct, I ate -nothing for the next three days, but drank quantities of water. - -[Illustration: PEARSE'S LAST PROCLAMATION - -Written under shell and shrapnel fire. (His marvelous handwriting is due -to his mastery of the Gaelic script.) - - -Headquarters, Army of the Irish Republic, -General Post Office - -Dublin. - -28th April, 1916. 9·30, a.m. - -The Forces of the Irish Republic, which was proclaimed in Dublin on -Easter Monday, 24th April, have been in possession of the central part -of the Capital since 12 noon on that day. Up to yesterday afternoon, -Headquarters was in touch with all the main outlying positions, and -despite furious and almost continuous assaults by the British Forces all -those positions were then still being held, and the Commandants in -charge were confident of their ability to hold them for a long time. - -During the course of yesterday afternoon, and evening, the enemy -succeeded in cutting our communications with our other positions in the -city, and Headquarters is to-day isolated. - -The enemy has burnt down whole blocks of houses, apparently with the -object of giving themselves a clear field for the play of Artillery and -field guns against us. We have been bombarded during the evening and -night by shrapnel and machine gun fire, but without material damage to -our position, which is of great strength. - -We are busy completing arrangements for the final defence of -Headquarters, and are determined to hold it while the buildings last. - -I desire now, lest I may not have an opportunity later, to pay homage to -the gallantry of the Soldiers of Irish Freedom who have during the past -four days been writing with fire and steel, the most glorious chapter in -the later history of Ireland. Justice can never be done to their -heroism, to their discipline, to their gay and unconquerable spirit, in -the midst of peril and death. - -Let me, who have led them into this, speak in my own, and in my -fellow-commanders' names, and in the name of Ireland present and to -come, their praise, and ask those who come after them to remember them. - -For four days they have fought and toiled, almost without cessation, -almost without sleep, and in the intervals of fighting, they have sung -songs of the freedom of Ireland. No man has complained, no man has asked -"why?". Each individual has spent himself, happy to pour out his -strength for Ireland and for freedom. If they do not win this fight, -they will at least have deserved to win it. But win it they will, -although they may win it in death. Already they have won a great thing. -They have redeemed Dublin from many shames, and made her name splendid -among the names of Cities. - -If I were to mention names of individuals, my list would be a long one. - -I will name only that of Commandant General James Connolly, Commanding -the Dublin division. He lies wounded, but is still the guiding brain of -our resistance. - -If we accomplish no more than we have accomplished, I am satisfied. I am -satisfied that we have saved Ireland's honour. I am satisfied that we -should have accomplished more, that we should have accomplished the task -of enthroning, as well as proclaiming, the Irish Republic as a Sovereign -State, had our arrangements for a simultaneous rising of the whole -country, with a combined plan as sound as the Dublin plan has been -proved to be, been allowed to go through on Easter Sunday. Of the fatal -countermanding order which prevented those plans from being carried out, -I shall not speak further. Both Eoin MacNeill and we have acted in the -best interests of Ireland. - -For my part, as to anything I have done in this, I am not afraid to face -either the judgement of God, or the judgement of posterity. - -(Signed) P. H. Pearse, Commandant General. -Commanding-in-chief the Army of the Irish Republic and -President of the Provisional Government.] - -Once a day they allowed me visitors. Every one who came to my room was -confident that things were going well. That we were isolated from other -"forts" and even from headquarters did not necessarily mean they were -losing ground. We were holding out, and our spirits rose high. We -believed, too, that by this time the Volunteers outside Dublin had -risen. We could not know that, even where they had joined the rising on -Easter Monday, the loss of one day had given the British enough time to -be on guard, so that in no instance could our men enter the barracks -and seize arms as originally planned. - -While I lay there, I could hear the booming of big guns. All of us -believed it was the Germans attacking the British on the water. There -had been a rumor that German submarines would come into the fight if -they learned there was a chance of our winning it. I had heard that -report the evening before the rising. Edmond Kent, one of the republican -leaders, had been most confident of our success, and when a friend asked -him, "What if the British bring up their big guns?" he replied: - -"The moment they bring up their big guns, we win." - -He did not explain what he meant by this, but I took it that he expected -outside aid the minute the British, recognizing our revolt as serious, -gave us the dignity of combatants by using heavy artillery against us. -Whatever he meant, the fact remains that when they took this action, -they made us a "belligerent" in the world's eyes and gave us the excuse -we could so well use--an appeal to the world court as a "small nation," -for a place at the coming peace conference. - -Sunday morning one of the despatch-girls, white and scared because she -had been escorted to our "fort" by British soldiers, came from -headquarters to inform Commandant Mallin that a general surrender had -been decided on. The Commandant and Madam were in my room at the time, -and Madam instantly grew pale. - -"Surrender?" she cried. "We'll never surrender!" - -Then she begged the Commandant, who could make the decision for our -division, not to think of giving in. It would be better, she said, for -all of us to be killed at our posts. I felt as she did about it, but the -girl who had brought the despatch became more and more excited, saying -that the soldiers outside had threatened to "blow her little head off" -if she did not come out soon with the word they wanted. Possibly they -suspected any Irish girl would be more likely to urge resistance than -surrender. - -Commandant Mallin, to quiet us, I suppose, said he would not surrender -unless forced to do so. But he must have decided to give in at once, for -in less than an hour an ambulance came to take me to St. Vincent's -Hospital, just across the Green. - -As they carried me down-stairs, our boys came out to shake my hand. I -urged them again and again to hold out. As I said good-by to Commandant -Mallin, I had a feeling I should never see him again. Not that it -entered my head for a moment that he would be executed by the British. -Despite all our wrongs and their injustices, I did not dream of their -killing prisoners of war. - -I felt no such dread concerning the countess, though our last words -together were about her will. I had witnessed it, and she had slipped it -in the lining of my coat. I was to get it to her family at the earliest -possible moment. It was fortunate that I did. - -My departure was the first move in the surrender. That afternoon all the -revolutionists gave up their arms to the British in St. Patrick's -Square. - - - - -X - - -Those first two weeks in St. Vincent's Hospital were the blackest of my -life. In that small, white room I was, at first, as much cut off as -though in my grave. I had fever, and the doctors and nurses were more -worried over my pneumonia than over my wounds, though every time they -dressed them I suffered from the original treatment with corrosive -sublimate. My greatest anxiety, however, was because I could get no word -to my mother in Glasgow. I knew she would think I had been killed. - -That was just what happened. The first word she had received since the -day I left home was that I was dead; that I had been shot in the spine, -and left lying on the Dublin pavement for two days. The next rumor that -reached her was that I was not dead, but paralyzed. The third report was -that the British had sentenced me to fifteen years' imprisonment. Had I -not been wounded, the last would probably have been true. - -After two weeks I wrote a letter, and the doctor had it forwarded home -for me. It had not been easy work writing it, for my right arm was the -one that had been wounded. I knew, though, that unless she had word in -my own handwriting, my mother might not believe what she read. - -Presently news began to drift in to me of trials and executions. I could -not get it through my head. Why were these men not treated as prisoners -of war? We had obeyed all rules of war and surrendered as formally as -any army ever capitulated. All my reports were of death; nothing but -death! - -At dawn on May 3, the British shot Padraic Pearse, Thomas McDonagh, and -old Tom Clarke. - -The following day they shot Joseph Plunkett, the brother of Padraic -Pearse, and two other leaders, Daly and O'Hanrahan. - -The third day John McBride, a man known the world over for his stand in -the Boer War, was shot to death. He was the only one killed that day, -and we wondered why. What was this British reasoning that determined who -should go in company with his fellows and who should go alone? - -At length came the turn of the Countess Markievicz. Because she was a -woman, they commuted her death-sentence to penal servitude for life. I -was very glad; but I knew that, since she had fought as one of them, -she would rather have died with them. Penal servitude! Those words rang -like a knell for one who was all energy, who needed people around her, -who wanted to serve. - -[Illustration: THE ORDER THAT MADE THE SURRENDER OF THE COLLEGE OF -SURGEONS INEVITABLE - -In order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in the -hope of saving the lives of our followers now surrounded and hopelessly -outnumbered, the members of the Provisional Government present at -Head-Quarters have agreed to an unconditional surrender, and the -Commandants of the various districts in the City and Country will order -their commands to lay down arms. - -P. H. Pearse -29th April 1916 -3.45 p. m. - -I agree to these conditions for the men only under my own command in the -Moore Street District and for the men in the Stephen's Green Command. - -James Connolly -April 29/16 - -On consultation with Commandant Connolly and their officers I have -decided to agree to unconditional surrender also. - -Thomas MacDonagh.] - -The British did not shoot any one on Sunday. They let us meditate on all -that the past week had done to our leaders. There is no torture so -excruciating as suspense. It is the suspense which Ireland has had to -endure for generations that has weakened her more than any battles. How -we have waited and waited! It has always been hard for us to believe we -were not to realize our hopes. Even in these latter years during which -Home Rule has loomed large before us, we have not suspected that, in the -end, it would become only a parliamentary trick and a delusion. If any -one had told me the Sunday before that all these men were to be shot, I -should not have believed them. Our bitter belief has been forced upon -us. - -On Monday the British began it again. This time it was Michael Mallin -they stood against a wall and shot. I remembered how, when I was so ill -at the College of Surgeons, he had been gentle with me. He always had -tried to ease the discomforts of his men. You would never have guessed -by looking at him, he was so quiet and restrained, that he had been -waiting twenty years for the day which would make him a commandant over -Irish soldiers. He told me that, as a boy of fourteen, he had enlisted -in the British army to get experience with which to fight Great Britain. -When he was stationed in India, he said, he had lain awake night after -night, planning how some day he could put his military knowledge at -Ireland's service. Six days he served Ireland; eight days he lay in -prison; now he was dead! - -Later his widow came to see me. She brought me the note-book he used -when writing the despatches I carried. She brought me, besides, some -small bits of Irish poplin he had woven himself. She did not break down; -she seemed exalted. It was the same with all the wives of those shot, -and with the mother of Padraic and William Pearse. You would have -thought they had been greatly honored, that their dignity was equal to -bearing it. - -Yet they all had terrible stories of cruelty to tell me. Kilmainham -Prison was a grim waiting-room for death. In addition, the court-martial -never lasted long enough for any one to feel he had been fairly tried -and judged. I heard all the prison sentences, over a hundred that first -week! Most of them were for long terms, and five for life. Councilor -Partridge was given a fifteen-year sentence that afterward was commuted -to ten. - -It is not the same thing to read of executions and sentences in the -press and to hear of them from the lips of friends,--the wives, mothers, -and daughters of the men executed or sentenced for life. To feel we had -failed in our purpose was enough to make us brood; but to know that -never again would these men sing rebel songs together or tell of their -hopes-- - -At length Norah Connolly and her sister came to see me. They told me of -their father's last hours; how, because of his wound that already had -brought him close to death, he had to be strapped into a chair to face -the firing-squad. I thought of gentle Mrs. Connolly saying good-by to -her husband, knowing all the while what was about to take place! - -Some of the first-aid girls who had been in prison for fifteen days came -to visit me, too. We compared notes. I learned then how Chris Caffrey -had been stripped and searched by British soldiers to her shame, for she -was a modest girl. But she had eaten her despatch before they dragged -her off the street where she had been bicycling. I heard, too, how Chris -had been almost prevented from reaching headquarters by a crowd of poor -women gathered about the post-office for their usual weekly "separation -allowance." Their husbands were all fighting in France or Flanders for -the British. They would not get their allowance this week, and were -terror-stricken, crowding about the post-office and crying and shouting -hysterically. Chris, as we called Christine, had to fire her revolver -at the ground before they would make way for her. - -Next followed the story of Francis Sheehy Skeffington, one of the few -men in Dublin we could go to for advice about the law when we had any -plan to carry out. He had been shot without a trial, they said; without -even knowing, when called out into the little courtyard, that he was -about to be killed. And he had had _nothing to do with the rising_! He -always had been against the use of force. When he was arrested, after a -day spent in trying to get a committee of safety together because the -police had disappeared, his wife did not even know where he was. She had -no word of his death until a day after he was buried in quicklime, the -burial of a criminal! - -Ah, how the stories of Belgian atrocities which we had heard from the -lips of the Archbishop of Michlin when the Great War broke out, paled -beside this one fortnight in Dublin! We did not know when it would end -or how. There ensued a reign of terror in all Irish homes, whether the -men or women had had anything to do with the rising or not. For both -soldiers and police were now given power to arrest any one they pleased. -Several hundred men were put in prison under no charge, nor were any -charges ever preferred in many cases. - -The women, too! Helen Maloney and Dr. Katherine Lynn, whose motor Madam -had used that night in St. Stephen's Green and whose bicycle I had been -riding, were both arrested Easter Monday and taken to Dublin Castle. -Miss Maloney was discovered a few hours later with the lock half off her -door, her fingers bleeding pitifully from attempts to get out. Next they -were taken to Kilmainham jail, where for fifteen days those two women, -with eighty others, were kept in a room completely lacking any sanitary -arrangements. We used to shudder at stories of such deeds, which we then -believed could happen only in Siberia. Dr. Lynn is famous for her -surgical skill. She is one of the Irish doctors to whom the British send -their worst war cripples for treatment, and is far more successful than -they in treating such cases. Many visitors to Dublin have seen Miss -Maloney on the stage of the Abbey Theater and recognized her talent. Dr. -Lynn was deported to Bath; Miss Maloney was sent to the Aylesbury -Prison, and kept there a year. Never once during that time was any -charge preferred against her. - -Little Tommy Keenan of Camden Row had, so he thought, the good fortune -to be put in prison with sixty of the Fianna when our men surrendered -the College of Surgeons. But, much to their chagrin, at the end of two -weeks the boys were released. Did they scurry away to grow up into -better British subjects? Not at all! Tommy lined them up in front of the -jail and led them off down the street singing "The Watch on the Rhine" -at the top of their lungs. - -There was no end to the stories I heard as I lay there in the hospital. -Stories of heroism and stories of disaster followed one another, each -strengthening my belief that the courage and honor of the heroic days of -Ireland were still alive in our hearts. Perhaps it is for this we should -love our enemies: when they cleave with their swords the heart of a -brave man, they lay bare the truth of life. - - - - -XI - - -There came a day when I could no longer endure lying alone in my room, -thinking of all that had happened for this reason or that. The nurses -had been very kind to me. Some of them were in sympathy with the Sinn -Fein movement, while all of them felt the horror of the executions. -There were times when I could rise above this horror and cheer them, -too, by singing a rebel song. I had interested them, besides, in -suffrage work we had been doing in Glasgow, where for several years -eleven hundred militants had done picketing and the like. - -Finally, however, I persuaded them to let me move into the public ward, -where I could see other women patients and talk a little. There were -about twenty women and girls in the ward. Nine of them, who had nothing -to do with the rising, had been wounded by British soldiers. The nurses -insisted this was accidental. But the women themselves would not agree -to that explanation, nor did I, for I recalled the Red Cross girls being -shot at,--a thing I had seen with my own eyes. I told the nurses I had -seen the British firing at our ambulances in the belief, no doubt, that -we were doing what we had caught them at--transporting troops from one -part of Dublin to another in ambulances. Sometimes I felt sorry to have -to make those nurses see facts as they were, instead of helping them -keep what few illusions still remained about their men in khaki. But I -was glad when I could tell them what I had just heard of De Vallera's -daring. With a handful of men, he had prevented two thousand of the -famous Sherwood Foresters coming through lower Mount Street to attack -one of our positions. Or, again, it did me good to relate the story of -the seventeen-year-old lad who single-handed had captured a British -general. The sequel to that tale, however, was not very cheerful, for -the same general had sat at the court-martial, and gave the boy who -before had had power of life and death over him, a ten year sentence. - -There were three women in the ward who had all been struck by the same -bullet: a mother, her daughter, and a cousin. They had been friendly to -the British soldiers, had fed them because, as the mother told me, her -husband and son were in the trenches fighting for Great Britain. These -three women had been at their window, looking with curiosity into the -street, when the very soldier they had just fed turned suddenly and shot -them. One had her jawbone broken, the second her arm pierced, and the -third was struck in the breast. They were all serious wounds which kept -them in bed. While I was still in the ward, the two men of this family -came back from Flanders on leave, only to find no one at home. The -neighbors directed them to the hospital. I hate to think how those men -looked when they learned why their women wore bandages. They told me -that during Easter Week the Germans put up opposite the trenches of the -Irish Brigade a placard that read: - - - _"The military are shooting down your wives and children in - Dublin._" - - -But the Irish soldiers had not believed it. - -I asked them if it was true, as alleged, that in answer to the placard, -the Irish Brigade had sung "Rule, Britannia." They were indignant at the -idea. They might be wearing khaki, they said, but they never yet had -sung "Rule, Britannia." When the day came for them to return to the -front, the father wanted to desert, dangerous as that would be, while -the son was eager to go back to the trenches. - -"This time," he said to me, "we'll not be killing Germans!" - -When rumors came later of a mutiny in the Irish regiment, I wondered to -myself if these two men were at the bottom of it. - - -Stories of atrocities poured into our ears when the Germans invaded -Belgium. Now we had to hear them from our own people, and now we had to -believe them. They were stories as cruel as any heard since the days of -the Island Magee massacre. - -In the House of Commons shortly after the rising, the cabinet was -questioned if it were true that the body of a boy in the uniform of the -Irish Volunteers had been unearthed in the grounds of Trinity College, -with the marks of twenty bayonet wounds upon him. - -"No," was the response, "there were not twenty; there were only -nineteen"! - -The body in question was that of Gerald Keogh, one of a family -passionately devoted to the cause of Irish freedom. He had been sent to -Kimmage to bring back fifty men. He went scouting ahead of them, just as -I had done when I brought in the men from the Leeson Street bridge. As -he was passing Trinity College, held by the British, he was shot down -and swiftly captured. It is generally understood he was asked for -information, and that, upon his refusing to answer, the soldiers tried -to force it from him by prodding him with their bayonets. I might add -that the fifty men with him were not attacked as they went by. - -This boy's brother was also captured by British soldiers, who decided to -hang him then and there. He begged them to shoot him, but they fastened -a noose around his neck and led him to a lamp-post. Fortunately an -officer came along at that moment and rescued him. Even children were -not safe from being terrorized by the soldiers, as Mr. Dillon later -brought out in the House of Commons. - -There also were murders in North King Street. Fourteen men who had -nothing to do with the rising, were killed in their homes by British -soldiers who buried them in their cellars, while others looted the -houses. The house in Leinster Road was pillaged, and the soldiers had -the effrontery to sell the books, fine furniture, and paintings on the -street in front of the dwelling. - -I had been in the hospital now about five weeks, and had been told I -might go in a few days to visit friends in the city if I would promise -to return every day to have my wounds dressed. Then one morning I was -informed there was a "G-man," as we call government detectives, waiting -down-stairs to see me. He had been coming every day to the hospital, it -seems, to learn if I was yet strong enough to go to jail. Evidently he -had decided that I was, for he told me I must accompany him to Bridewell -Prison. - -When I went up to the ward to say good-by and get my things, I found -the nurses terribly upset. You see, it brought the Irish question right -home to that hospital. They went to him in a body and tried to beg me -off, but he insisted on his rights, and away I went despite tears and -protestations. - -This was the first time I had been out, so naturally I felt queer and -weak. Nor was I pleased with my companion. He had a fat, self-satisfied -face; in fact, was not at all the handsome, keen-looking detective you -see on the cover of a dime novel. Besides, he was _too_ polite. He -thought, I suppose, that this would be the best way to get me to answer -the hundred and one questions he began to ask me. I told him I might -answer questions about myself, but I certainly should not answer any -concerning the countess or my other friends. - -This response kept him quiet for a block or two. Then he turned -suddenly and asked me about two girls from Glasgow who had come to -Ireland at the same time that I did. I just walked along as though I had -not heard a word, and so we proceeded in silence the rest of the way. - -When we entered the vestibule of the prison, an old official immediately -began to catechize me. I refused to answer a single one of his -questions, not even as to my name. Instead I pointed to the "G-man." - -"Ask him," I said. "He knows all about me, and can tell you if he wants -to." - -The detective's face grew red, but he did answer the old man's -questions. It was very interesting to me to find that he knew who my -parents were; that I had been born twelve miles from Glasgow; that I -had gone to different schools which he named, and that I had attended -the training college for teachers. He told just where I had been -teaching, and how well known I was as a militant suffragette. But what -he did _not_ say was even more interesting. He never declared that I had -been a combatant in the rising. I wondered inwardly if he thought I had -been only a despatch-rider or a first-aid girl. I was exceedingly glad I -had let him answer for me as, taking it for granted they knew all about -me, I might have given myself away. - -The old man finally called the matron and told her to treat me well, as -I was not a "drunk or disorderly" person, to which class this prison is -given over, but a military prisoner. Indeed she did treat me well. Since -there was nothing on which to sit down, she kindly opened a cell and -let me sit on the wooden plank they call a bed, and stare at the wooden -head-board. I did not look forward much to such accommodations, with my -wounds still painful. She talked to me, too, very sympathetically. -Sometimes it was hard for us to hear each other, as there were many -drunken men singing and cursing. Being drunk, they were able to forget -that Ireland was under martial law, and cursed the British loudly or -sang disrespectful songs. - -The detective had gone out, and those in the jail seemed waiting to hear -from him before they picked out my permanent cell. After about two -hours, he came back. From where I sat, I could see him bend over the old -man and whisper to him. Then he walked over to me. - -"Come," he said, "we'll go now." - -"Go where?" I asked. - -"To the hospital," he replied, "or anywhere else you wish. You are -free." - -The matron was as pleased as if she were a friend of mine. I was too -amazed to know what to think. I told the detective, however, that as I -did not know this part of Dublin, I could not find my way back to the -hospital without his company. Off we went again, and he paid my carfare, -for which I thanked him. - -In the sky overhead were aëroplanes that the British kept hovering over -Dublin to impress the people. - -"Are those the little things with which you fight the Zeppelins?" I -asked my detective. - -This remark hurt his feelings. He was not British, he informed me, but a -good Redmondite. How embarrassed he was when I asked him if he liked -arresting Irish who had shown their love of Ireland by being willing to -die for her and, what sometimes seemed worse to me, going into an -English prison for life. After that we did not talk any more until he -said good-by to me at the hospital door. - -The nurses were not as surprised to see me back as I had expected them -to be. They had known I was returning, for it was the head doctor who -had telephoned the authorities at Dublin Castle to tell them, with a -good deal of heat, that I was in no condition to begin a prison -sentence. That must have been what the "G-man" had whispered to the old -official at Bridewell Prison. - - - - -XII - - -After two weeks more, I left the hospital and went to stay with a friend -in Dublin. It seemed very strange to me not to be going back to Surrey -House. How everything had changed! As soon as I was strong enough, I -went around to see where the fighting had destroyed whole streets. -Dublin was scarred and, it seemed to me, very sick. I recalled -momentarily that a teacher of mine had once said the name Dublin meant -"the Black Pool." - -The building where I had first met Thomas McDonagh, the Volunteer -headquarters, had a "to let" sign in its windows. Who would want to -engage in business in a place where such high hopes had been blasted? - -Liberty Hall was a shell, empty of everything but memories. - -Around the post-office, all other buildings had been leveled, but the -great building stood there like a monument to Easter Week. - -The windows stared vacantly from the house on Leinster Road. Everything -had been taken from it. The looters must have had a merry time. Hundreds -of houses had been thus sacked, for the British soldiers had lived up to -that Tommy whose words make Kipling's famous song: - - - The sweatin' Tommies wonder as they spade the beggars under, - Why lootin' should be entered as a crime; - So if my song you'll hear, I will learn you plain and clear - 'Ow to pay yourself for fightin' overtime; - With the loot! - Bloomin' loot! - That's the thing to make the boys git up and shoot! - - It's the same with dogs and men, - If you'd make 'em come again - Clap 'em forward with a - Loo-loo-lulu - Loot! - - -Against our soldiers, on the other hand, a great many of whom were very -poor, there had not been a single accusation of looting. In the -post-office, for instance, they ordered one of the captured British -officers to guard the safe. In the streets where windows had been -broken, they tried to keep the people from pillaging the shops. Whatever -money our men found lying loose in the buildings they occupied was -turned over to their superior officers. Again and again I myself had -seen men of the Citizen Army, quite as poor as any British soldier, hand -over money to Commandant Mallin. Had I only thought of it, I could have -taken this with me when I was carried to the hospital. The cause would -have been at least one hundred pounds richer. - -At the College of Surgeons we had destroyed nothing except a portrait of -Queen Victoria. We took that down and made puttees out of it. We did not -feel we were doing any wrong, for it was Queen Victoria who, in 1848, -wrote to her uncle, King Leopold of Belgium: - -"There are ample means of crushing the rebellion in Ireland, and I think -it very likely to go off without any contest, which people (I think -rightly) rather regret. The Irish should receive a good lesson or they -will begin it again." - -From this quotation any one can see that the Queen looked upon the -Irish as aliens, which, indeed, they are. - -We also were very careful of the museum and library at the College of -Surgeons. Although the men did not have any covering and the nights were -cold, they did not cut up the rugs and carpets, but doubled them and -crept in between the folds in rows. - -About Jacob's Biscuit Factory, during Easter Week, even though it was a -very dangerous spot, the employees had hovered, for fear their means of -livelihood would be destroyed. But it was not. The machinery was left -uninjured, for we always remembered our own poor. - -At Guinness's brewery, where great quantities of stout were stored, none -of it was touched. Most of our men are teetotalers, anyway. - -Some of the poor of Dublin had tried to pillage at first, but it was a -pathetic attempt. I saw one specimen of this on Easter Tuesday, while -carrying a despatch. There was a crowd of people about a shoe-shop. The -windows had been smashed, and the poor wretches were clambering into the -shop at great risk of cutting themselves. Once inside, despite all the -outer excitement, they were taking the time to _try on shoes_! Many of -them, one could see, had never had a pair of new shoes in their lives. -Visitors to Dublin going through the poorer parts are always surprised -at the number of children and young girls who walk about bare-footed in -icy weather. It is in this way that their health is undermined. - -One day during the week after I left the hospital, I heard that a batch -of prisoners was to be taken to England aboard a cattle-boat leaving the -pier called North Wall. I went down at once to watch for them. It was a -very wet day, and the prisoners had been marched six miles from Richmond -barracks through the pouring rain. But they were singing their rebel -songs, just as if they had never been defeated and were not on their way -to the unknown horrors of an English prison. - -The officer in charge seemed much excited, though he had five hundred -soldiers to look after a hundred prisoners. - -"For God's sake, close in, or we'll be rushed!" he shouted to his men. -Then the soldiers, with fixed bayonets, "closed in" upon the wet crowd -of rebels, who actually seemed to feel the humor of it. - -I knew some of the boys, and walked in between the bayonets to shake -hands with them and march a part of the way. They had heard I was dead, -and looked at first as if they were seeing a ghost. One of them, a -little, lame playwright of whom I had caught a glimpse at Bridewell, had -told me at the time that he was writing a farce about the revolution to -show its absurdity. He had had nothing to do with the rising, for it was -his brother who had been with us at the College of Surgeons. There was -not even a charge against him; yet here he was, limping along in the -rain and mud, but still cheerful. This chap gave me a bundle of clothes -and a message for his mother, so I hunted her up the next morning. She -did not know he had been deported, and was in despair, for she had left -her little cottage in the country to be near her son in Dublin. When I -visited her she was just back from market with fruit she had bought to -take to him, as it was visiting day at the barracks. - -These are some of the things that made even quiet old mothers grow -bitter. - - - - -XIII - - -No one could leave Ireland for Scotland without a special permit from -Dublin Castle. This permit was given only when one applied in person, so -I decided to go after it. My friends were terrified; it was putting my -head into the lion's mouth. But it was the only way, even though I might -never come out of that building free. - -I took my arm out of the sling, hoping I should not have to raise it; -for I couldn't, nor can yet. For greater precaution, just before I -reached Dublin Castle, I removed the republican colors I always wore, -and put them in my pocket. - -I was taken to a room where a police official began to ask me -questions. It was, I believe, my "loyal" Scotch accent that put them off -guard, when I asked for a permit to go to Glasgow. At the hospital one -of the nurses shook her head, following a long talk, and said: - -"Your opinions and your accent don't go together." - -I have often been told that I look more like a teacher of mathematics, -which, indeed, I am, than like an Irish rebel, of which I am more proud. - -The officer first asked me my name. I confess that I gave it to him -while wondering what his next words would be. He merely asked my address -in Dublin, so I gave him the address of friends with whom I was staying. -Would that disturb him, I wondered? - -"When did you come to Dublin?" he next asked. - -"Holy Thursday," I replied. - -"Then you've been here during the rising?" - -"Yes," I said. - -In a tone which showed how deeply he had been moved by Easter Week, he -added: - -"It's been a terrible business!" - -To that I could feelingly agree. - -At length he gave me a permit, not one to leave Dublin, but merely to -see the military authorities. Here was another ordeal. - -I went up to a soldier in the corridor and asked him where I should go. - -"What's your name?" he asked. - -"It's on this permit," I replied, holding it out to him. - -But, as he seemed afraid to touch it, I told him my name, and he took me -to the office where the military authorities were located. I shivered a -little at the chance of his going in with me and telling them I was a -rebel. But he left me at the door. - -To my relief, the questions put to me here were the same as before. I -had only to tell the truth, and the polite officer handed over my pass. - -As soon as I was outside the castle I replaced my republican colors and -went home to friends who really did not expect to see me again. - -[Illustration: THE PASS OUT OF IRELAND FOR WHICH THE AUTHOR, AT GREAT -RISK, APPLIED IN PERSON AT DUBLIN CASTLE - - - Please pass Margaret Skinnider - Between Dublin & England - Via - North Wall [or Kingstown][struck through] - [Illustration: Stamp: ASSISTANT PROVOST MARSHAL DUBLIN 2/6/16] - [name unclear] Major - Asst. provost Marshal] - -I did not go directly to Glasgow, however, for I heard that the police -were watching all incoming trains. Instead, I went to a little seaside -resort to recuperate. My sister, who had come over to Dublin to be with -me after I left the hospital, went along, too. She was terrified when we -got off the boat because police were watching the gangway. But nothing -happened. My mother came to see me, and took it all splendidly, though -from the first I had given her an anxious time of it. She is a good -rebel. - -I was proud that I could tell my mother I had been mentioned three times -for bravery in despatches sent to headquarters. The third time was when -I was wounded. Commandant Mallin had said then: - -"You'll surely be given the republican cross." - -But the republic did not last long enough for that. I _was_ given an -Irish cross. This was the joint gift of the Cumman-na-mBan girls and the -Irish Volunteers of Glasgow. They arranged, as a surprise for me, a -meeting with addresses and songs. Since I had no hint of it, I was out -of Scotland on the day set. They had to repeat part of the ceremony when -I came back. It all was meant to be very solemn, but somehow I felt -strange and absurd to be getting a cross for bravery that had led to -death or prison so many others. - -I had left Scotland very quietly to go to England and see some of our -boys being held in Reading Jail without any charge against them. I had -had a good talk with them, even though a guard stood near all the time. -He was a pleasant-enough person, so we included him in our conversation, -explaining the whole rising to him. The boys were in good spirits, too. -They laughed when I told them I had always boasted I would never set -foot in England. And here, on their account, I was not only in England, -but in an English prison. - -We had very few Irish revolutionists in the Scotch prisons. Two hundred -of them were brought, during August, to Barlinnie Prison, but they were -allowed to stay only a short time. Far too much sympathy was expressed -for them by the Irish in Glasgow and by Scotch suffragettes, who made a -point of going to visit them and taking them comforts. Presently they -were removed to the camp at Frongoch, Wales, where several hundred -others who had taken part in the rising were interned. As they marched -through the streets of Glasgow, we could not help noticing how much -larger and finer looking they appeared than the British soldiers -guarding them. They were men from Galway,--men who for six long days had -put up a memorable fight in that county, and with less than forty rifles -had held six hundred square miles! Three thousand of the rifles that -went down with the _Aud_ had been promised to Galway. Yet five hundred -men had been ready to "go out" when they heard that, despite the -countermanding order, Dublin forces were rebelling, no matter what the -odds. - - - - -XIV - - -When I went back to Dublin in August, it was to find that almost every -one on the streets was wearing republican colors. The feeling was -bitter, too--so bitter that the British soldiers had orders to go about -in fives and sixes, but never singly. They were not allowed by their -officers to leave the main thoroughfares, and had to be in barracks -before dark,--that is, all except the patrol. The city was still under -martial law, but it seemed to me the military authorities were the -really nervous persons. Much of this bitterness came from the fact that -people remembered how, after the war in South Africa which lasted three -years instead of five days, only one man had been executed. After _our_ -rising sixteen men had been put to death. - -Everywhere I heard the opinion expressed that if the revolution could -have lasted a little longer, we would have been flooded with recruits. -As it was, the rising had taken people completely by surprise. Before -they could recover from that surprise, it was over, and its leaders were -paying the penalty of death or imprisonment. One week is a short time -for the general, uninformed mass of a dominated people to decide whether -an outbreak of any sort is merely an impotent rebellion, or a real -revolution with some promise of success. Besides, there have been so -many isolated protests in Ireland, doomed from the first to failure. - -There was evidence everywhere that the feeling of bitterness was not -vague, but the direct result of fully understanding what had happened. -At a moving-picture performance of "The Great Betrayal," I was surprised -at the spirit of daring in the audience. The story was about one of -those abortive nationalist revolts in Italy which preceded the -revolution that made Italy free. The plot was parallel in so many -respects to the Easter Week rising in Ireland that crowds flocked every -day to see it. In the final picture, when the heroic leaders were shot -in cold blood, men in the audience called out bitterly: - -"That's right, Colthurst! Keep it up!" - -Colthurst was the man who shot Sheehy Skeffington without trial on the -second day of the rising. He had been promoted for his deeds of wanton -cruelty, and only the fact that a royal commission was demanded by -Skeffington's widow and her friends, made it necessary to adjudge him -insane as excuse for his behavior, when that behavior was finally -brought to light. - -It was on the occasion of my visit to the moving-pictures that I was -annoyed by the knowledge that a detective was following me. His only -disguise was to don Irish tweeds such as "Irish Irelanders" wear to -stimulate home industry. He had been following me about Dublin ever -since my arrival for my August visit. To this day I don't know why he -did not arrest me, nor what he was waiting for me to do. But I decided -now to give him the slip. In Glasgow I have had much practice jumping on -cars going at full speed. The Dublin cars are much slower, so as a car -passed me in the middle of the block, I suddenly leaped aboard, leaving -my British friend standing agape with astonishment on the sidewalk. -Doubtless he felt the time had come for me to carry out whatever plot I -had up my sleeve, and that he had been defeated in his purpose of -looking on. I never saw him again. - - -Even the children of Ireland have become republicans. There was a strike -not long ago in Dublin schools because an order was issued by the -authorities that school children should not wear republican colors. The -day after the teachers made this announcement some few children obeyed -the order, but they appeared in white dresses with green and orange -ribbons in their hair or cap. When this, too, was forbidden, the pupils -in one of the schools marched out in a body, and proceeded to other -schools throughout the city to call out the pupils on strike. Any school -that did not obey their summons promptly had its windows smashed. -Finally, the police were called and marched against them. The children, -as the sympathetic press put it, "retreated in good order to Mountjoy -Square, where they took their stand and defended their position with -what ammunition was at hand, namely, paving-stones." The end of it all -was that the children won, and went back to school wearing as many -badges or flags as they wished. - -Irish boys are showing their attitude, too, for at Padraic Pearse's -school, conducted now by a brother of Thomas McDonagh who taught there -before the rising, there are several hundred boys on the waiting-list. -The school never was as crowded before; the work that Pearse gave his -life for, the inspiriting of Irish youth, is still going on. - -Out on Leinster Road one day, I walked past that house where, not nine -months before, I had met so many people of the republican movement. The -house was empty, with that peculiar look of bereavement that some houses -wear. It had been an embodiment of the Countess Markievicz, and, now -that she was gone, looked doomed. Where was she? Over in England in -Aylesbury Prison, but fortunately at work in the kitchen. I could not -fancy her depressed beyond activity of some sort that in the end would -be for Ireland's good. - - - "A felon's cap's the noblest crown an Irish head can wear." - - -This was one of her favorite quotations, and I knew that in wearing the -cap, her courage would not desert her. Her sister had seen her, and told -me she was in good spirits; grateful that they had put her to work and -not left her to inactivity or brooding thoughts. She had repeated what -an old woman in Mountjoy Prison had said to her: - -"Man never built a wall but God Almighty threw a gap in it!" - - -Last November I paid another visit to Dublin. The bitterness had -increased. - - - - -SONGS SUNG BY THE IRISH -BEFORE AND AFTER THE EASTER RISING - - -Here is one of my favorite songs as a child: - - -O'DONNELL ABOO - - -I - - Proudly the note of the trumpet is sounding, - Loudly the war-cries arise on the gale; - Fleetly the steed by Lough Swilly is bounding, - To join the thick squadrons in Saimear's green vale. - On, every mountaineer, - Strangers to fight and fear! - Rush to the standard of dauntless Red Hugh! - Bonnaught and gallowglass, - Throng from each mountain pass; - Onward for Erin, O'Donnell Aboo! - - -II - - Princely O'Neill to our aid is advancing - With many a chieftain and warrior clan. - A thousand proud steeds in his vanguard are prancing - 'Neath borderers brave from the banks of the Bann. - Many a heart shall quail - Under its coat of mail; - Deeply the merciless foeman shall rue, - When on his ear shall ring, - Borne on the breezes' wing, - Sir Connell's dread war-cry, "O'Donnell Aboo!" - - -III - - Wildly o'er Deamond the war-wolf is howling! - Fearless the eagle sweeps over the plain! - The fox in the streets of the city is prowling! - All, all who would scare them are banished or slain! - Grasp every stalwart hand - Hackbut and battle brand, - Pay them all back the deep debt so long due! - Norris and Clifford well - Can of Sir Connell tell; - Onward to glory, "O'Donnell Aboo!" - - -IV - - Sacred the cause of Clan Connail's defending, - The altars we kneel at, the homes of our sires. - Ruthless the ruin the foe is extending. - Midnight is red with the plunderers' fires. - On with O'Donnell, then! - Fight the old fight again, - Sons of Sir Connell, all valiant and true; - Make the false Saxon feel - Erin's avenging steel! - Strike for your country, "O'Donnell Aboo!" - - -This was the other: - - -THE JACKETS GREEN - - When I was a maiden fair and young - On the pleasant banks of Lee, - No bird that in the wild wood sang - Was half so blythe and free; - My heart ne'er beats with flying feet, - Tho' Love sand me his queen, - Till down the glen rode Saisfield's men - And they wore their jackets green. - - -II - - Young Donal sat on his gallant gray - Like a king on a royal seat, - And my heart leaped out on his regal way - To worship at his feet; - O Love, had you come in those colors dressed, - And woo'd with a soldier's mien, - I'd have laid my head on your throbbing breast - For the sake of the Irish green. - - -III - - No hoarded wealth did my love own - Save the good sword that he bore, - But I loved him for himself alone - And the colors bright he wore. - For had he come in England's red - To make me England's queen, - I'd rove the high green hills instead - For the sake of the Irish green. - - -IV - - When William stormed with shot and shell - At the walls of Garryowen, - In the breach of death my Donal fell, - And he sleeps near the treaty stone. - That breach the foeman never crossed - While he swung his broadsword keen, - But I do not weep my darling lost, - For he fell in his jacket green. - - -Here is a song that Madam liked very much. It was the most popular song -of the Fenians: - - -THE FELONS OF OUR LAND - - Fill up once more, we'll drink a toast - To comrades far away, - No nation upon earth can boast - Of braver hearts than they; - And though they sleep in dungeons deep, - Or flee, outlawed and banned, - We love them yet, we can't forget - The felons of our land. - - In boyhood's bloom and manhood's pride - Foredoomed by alien laws, - Some on the scaffold proudly died - For Ireland's holy cause; - And, brother, say, shall we to-day - Unmoved, like cowards stand, - While traitors shame and foes defame - The felons of our land? - - Some in the convict's dreary cell - Have found a living tomb, - And some, unknown, unfriended, fell - Within the prison's gloom; - But what care we, although it be - Trod by a ruffian band? - God bless the clay where rest to-day - The felons of our land! - - Let cowards sneer and tyrants frown, - Oh, little do we care! - The felon's cap 's the noblest crown - An Irish head can wear! - And every Gael in Innisfail - Who scorns the serf's vile brand, - From Lee to Boyne would gladly join - The felons of our land! - - -This is one of the songs of earlier risings which we all sang during -the last one: - - -WRAP THE GREEN FLAG 'ROUND ME, BOYS - - -I - - Wrap the green flag 'round me, boys, - To die 'twere far more sweet, - With Erin's noble emblem, boys, - To be my winding-sheet; - In life I longed to see it wave, - And followed where it led, - But now my eyes grow dim, my hand - Would grasp its last bright shred. - - -II - - Oh, I had hopes to meet you, boys, - On many a well-fought field, - When to our bright green banner, boys, - The treacherous foe would yield; - But now, alas, I am denied - My dearest earthly prayer, - You'll follow and you'll meet the foe - But I shall not be there. - - -III - - But though my body molder, boys, - My spirit will be free, - And every comrade's honor, boys, - Will still be dear to me; - And in the thick and bloody fight, - Let not your courage lag, - For I'll be there, and hovering near - Around the dear old flag! - - -This song, written by the Countess Markiewicz to the tune of "The Young -May Moon," had a great effect in Dublin, before the rising, in -preventing the British from getting Irish recruits. It was sung -everywhere and went thus: - - -ANTI-RECRUITING SONG - - -I - - The recruiters are raidin' old Dublin, boys, - It's them we'll have to be troublin', boys, - We'll go to their meetin's and give them such greetin's, - We'll give them in German for fun, me boys; - 'Tis the Germans they're out to destroy, me boys, - Whose prosperity did so annoy, me boys, - So let each Irish blade just stick to his trade - And let Bull do his own dirty work, me boys. - - -CHORUS - - For the Germans are winning the war, me boys, - And England is feeling so sore, me boys, - They're passing conscription, the only prescription - To make Englishmen go to the front, me boys. - - -II - - Your boss, he won't go to the war, me boys, - Hun bullets do him so annoy, me boys, - So kindly he frees you, he does it to squeeze you - To fight for his money and him, me boys; - They've hunger conscription in Ireland, boys, - You'll starve till you're thin as a wire, me boys, - You'll get very thin, but you won't care a pin - For you'll know it's for Ireland's sake, me boys. - - -CHORUS - - For the English are losing the war, me boys, - And they want _us_ all killed before, me boys, - The great German nation has sworn their damnation, - And we'll echo the curse with a will, me boys. - - -III - - Then hurrah for the gallant old Dublin, boys, - And if you wouldn't be muddlin', boys, - Join a Volunteer corps, or, if that is a bore, - The Citizen Army's as good, me boys. - Then hurrah for the Volunteers, me boys, - Ireland in arms has no fears, me boys, - And surely if we would see Ireland free, - We'll arm and we'll drill for the Day, me boys. - - -CHORUS - - For the Germans are going to win, me boys, - And Ireland will have to butt in, me boys, - From a Gael with a gun the Briton will run, - And we'll dance at the wake of the Empire, boys! - - -Here is another satirical song, very popular just before and during the -rising. The man who sung it, called Brian na Banba, was deported by the -English after the rising: - - -HARP OR LION? - - Neighbors, list and hear from me - The wondrous news I've read to-day, - Ireland's love of liberty - 'Tis said is dead and passed away; - Irish men have all grown wiser, - Now they'll heed no ill adviser, - They despise their country's story, - All they love is England's glory-- - Ha, ha, ha! - Ha, ha, ha! - All they love is England's glory, - Ha, ha, ha! - - Now we all must grieve to know - The deep offense our fathers gave, - Meeting men with thrust and blow - That came to rob them and enslave; - We should blush for their ill-doing, - Give their errors no renewing, - And, unlike those old transgressors, - Never hurt our isle's oppressors-- - Ha, ha, ha! - Ha, ha, ha! - Never hurt our isle's oppressors, - Ha, ha, ha! - - Only think of Hugh O'Neill, - Thundering down in furious style, - To assail with lead and steel - The rovers from our sister isle; - Chiefs and clans in all directions - With their far and near connections, - Warriors bold and swift uprisers, - Rushing on their civilizers-- - Ha, ha, ha! - Ha, ha, ha! - On their gracious civilizers, - Ha, ha, ha! - - Surely, friends, the chance is great - We'll cast a cloud on Emmet's fame, - Scoff at Tone and '98, - And scorn Lord Edward's honored name; - Then, in quite a loyal manner, - Clip and dye our old green banner, - And, where hangs the harp of Brian, - Place the mangy British lion-- - Ha, ha, ha! - Ha, ha, ha! - Place the mangy British lion, - Ha, ha, ha! - - Surely, friends, it seems to me, - England's self ere now should know, - These are things she'll never see, - Let Ireland's star be high or low; - That's the truth, whoe'er denies it, - Scouts it, flouts it, or decries it, - Aids to spread a vile invention, - Drawn from--where I will not mention! - Ha, ha, ha! - Ha, ha, ha! - From the place 'tis wrong to mention, - Ha, ha, ha! - - -Another song, written to discourage recruiting for the English army in -Ireland, goes thus: - - -EIGHT MILLIONS OF ENGLISH MEN - - -I - - Good old Britain, rule the waves - And gobble up all the land, - Bring out the blacks and Indian braves - To jigger the German band; - Call up Australia and Canada, too, - To shatter the Kaiser's den, - We'll stick to the looms while the howitzer booms, - Eight millions of English men; - Of mafficking, manly men; - Of valiant, loyal men; - We'll capture the trade from here to Belgrade, - Eight millions of English men. - - -II - - There are plenty of fools in Ireland still, - Just promise them something soon, - A Union Jack, or a Home Rule Bill, - Or a slice of the next new moon; - And they'll rush to the colors with wild hurroos, - What price the War Lord then? - They'll settle his hash, while we gobble his cash, - Eight millions of English men; - Of beef-eating, bull-dog men; - Of undersized, able men; - We're shy of the guns, but we'll beggar the Huns, - Eight millions of English men. - - -This is a song that includes the Irish leaders in Parliament in its -satire on Irish "loyalty" to England: - - - "Now," says Lady Aberdeen, - "I've a message from the Queen - To the loyal hearts in Ireland here at home; - She wants you all to gather socks, - Plain as I, or decked with clocks, - Just to prove the Irish loyal to the throne." - - -CHORUS - - To Hell with the King, and God save Ireland, - Get a sack and start the work to-day, - Gather all the socks you meet, for the English Tommies' feet, - When they're running from the Germans far away! - - "When you've gathered all the socks, - Send them on to Dr. Cox, - Or to Redmond, or to Dillon, or myself, - For the party on the floor - Have agreed to look them o'er - While the Home Rule Bill is resting on the shelf." - - -CHORUS - - (Same as first stanza. The first line is a parody on the loyalist - toast: "Here's a health to the King, and God save Ireland!") - - -The Irish Citizen Army song was written by Jo Connolly, a young -workingman, whose brother, Sean Connolly, was killed while leading the -attack on Dublin Castle Easter Monday. Jo was the boy who cut loopholes -in the roof of the College of Surgeons. He was deported to Wandsworth -Prison, but after a few months was released. The song is sung to the -tune which you know as "John Brown's Body": - - -THE IRISH CITIZEN ARMY - - -I - - The Irish Citizen Army is the name of our wee band, - With our marchin' and our drillin', I'm sure you'll call it grand; - And when we start our fightin' it will be for Ireland, - And we'll still keep marching on! - - -CHORUS - - Glory, glory to old Ireland! - Glory, glory to our sireland! - Glory to the memory of those who fought and fell, - And we'll still keep marching on! - - -II - - We've got guns and ammunition, we know how to use them well, - And when we meet the Saxon, we will drive them all to Hell; - We've got to free our country and avenge all those who fell, - So we still keep marching on! - - -CHORUS - - -III - - King George he is a coward, that no one can deny, - When the Germans come to England, from there he'll have to fly; - And if he comes to Ireland then, by God, he'll have to die, - And we'll still go marching on! - - -CHORUS - - -IV - - When the Germans come to free us, we will lend a helping hand, - For we believe they're just as good as any in the land, - They're bound to win our rights for us, let England go be damned! - And we'll still keep marching on! - - -Here is the song of the Irish Volunteers, sung at all concerts held -before the rising to get funds for rifles and ammunition. The Volunteers -sang it whenever they marched, and I have been told the men in the -rising of '67 also sang it. It was sung everywhere during the last -rising. When we first withdrew to the College of Surgeons, Frank Robins -sang it, and we all joined in the chorus: - - -VOLUNTEER MARCHING SONG - - I'll sing you a song, a soldier's song, - With a cheering, rousing chorus, - As round the blazing camp-fire we throng, - The starry heavens o'er us; - Impatient for the coming fight, - And, as we watch the dawning light, - Here in the silence of the night - We'll chant the soldier's song: - - -CHORUS - - Soldiers are we whose lives are pledged to Ireland! - Some have come from a land beyond the wave, - Sworn to be free! No more our ancient sireland - Shall shelter the despot and the slave! - To-night we'll man the bearna booighill,[1] - In Erin's cause come woe or weal, - 'Mid cannon's roar or rifle's peal, - We'll chant a soldier's song! - - 'Mid valleys green and towering crag, - Our fathers fought before us, - And conquered 'neath the same old flag - That's proudly floating o'er us; - We're children of a fighting race - That never yet has known disgrace, - And as we go our foe to face, - We'll chant a soldier's song: - - -CHORUS - - Sons of the Gael, men of the Pale, - The long-watched day is breaking! - The serried ranks of Innisfail - Have set the tyrant quaking! - But now our camp-fire's burning low, - See in the east a silver glow! - Out yonder waits the Saxon foe! - Then chant a soldier's song: - - -CHORUS - - -The Fianna also had their songs. One of them, written by one of the -Fianna boys, goes: - - - Draw the sword ye Irish men! - The sword is mightier than the pen! - Fight the good old fight again - To crush the old transgressor! - - Break the bonds of slavery! - O great God, it cannot be - That Gaels could ever bend the knee - To England, their oppressor! - - -Almost before it was over, the rising became part of the great -patriotic tradition of Ireland, and on all sides new songs were heard -celebrating it and those who took leading parts in it. Some of these -songs were heavy with a sense of the nation's tragedy. Others--those -written by men who had taken part in the rising--were often full of wit, -that dauntless Irish spirit that does not forsake men even in defeat and -imprisonment. But the most moving, now the most popular of them all, was -written by a nun. It is sung to the tune of "Who Fears to Speak of '98?" -and begins: - - - Who fears to speak of Easter Week? - Who dares its fate deplore? - The red-gold flame of Erin's name - Confronts the world once more! - So, Irishmen, remember, then, - And raise your heads with pride, - For great men, and straight men - Have fought for you and died! - - The spirit wave that came to save - The peerless Celtic soul, - From earthly stain of greed and gain - Had caught them in its roll; - Had raised them high to do or die, - To sound the trumpet call, - To true men, though few men, - To follow one and all! - - Upon their shield, a stainless field - With virtue blazoned bright, - With temperance and purity, - With truth and honor, right; - And now they stand at God's right hand, - Who framed their dauntless clay, - Who taught them, and brought them - The honor of to-day! - - The ancient foe hath boasted,--lo: - That Irishmen were tame! - They bought our souls with paltry doles, - And told the world of slaves; - That lie, men, will die, men, - In Pearse and Plunkett's graves! - - -Here is a song written by a member of the Irish Republican army while -he was confined in Richmond Barracks, Dublin, a month after the rising. -It is sung to the tune of "The Mountains of Mourne": - - -I - - In Dublin's fair city there's sorrow to-day - For the flower of her manhood who fell in the fray; - Her youths and her maidens, her joy and her pride - Have gone down in battle, in war's raging tide. - - -II - - They came forth to fight for a cause that was grand, - When freedom and liberty called to their land; - In the ardor of youth, in the spring of the year, - They came without falter, they fought without fear. - - -III - - Near the noon of that day on that April morn, - Their tramp shook the street where young Emmet was born; - They waved high their banner, white, orange and green, - And it waved over freemen, the men of '16! - - -IV - - And high o'er the Liffey it waved in the wind, - Over hearts that were brave and the noblest of minds; - And they fought as of old, and they held the old town - Till their banner, unsullied, in darkness went down. - - -V - - In that Easter Week, dear old Dublin was freed, - By the blood of her sons from Swords to the Sea, - Oh, proudly again does she raise her old head - When the nations lament and salute her bold dead! - - -VI - - O Irish Republic! O dream of our dreams! - Resplendent in vision thy bright beauty gleams! - Though fallen and crushed 'neath thy enemy's heel, - Thy glory and beauty shine burnished like steel! - - -VII - - Not in vain was their death who for Ireland died, - And their deeds in our hearts in gold are inscribed; - The freeing of Ireland to us is their trust, - And we can if we will it, we can if we must! - - -VIII - - In Dublin's fair city there's sorrow to-day, - For the flower of her manhood who fell in the fray; - But in hearts that are true there is nothing of gloom, - And Erin regenerate shall rise from the tomb! - - -The rising inspired not only verse, but music. One of the most popular -songs in Ireland to-day is "Easter Week"; the words by Francis Grenade, -the music by Joseph Mary Crofts: - - - Long, long the years thy chains have bound thee, Eire, - Bitter the tears that sparkled in thy eyes, - Sudden the cry of freedom thrills the city, - Brave hearts beat high, thy children round thee rise; - 'Mid shot and shell, where flaming cannon thunder, - From out that hell we hear their battle-cry: - "Sinn Fein Amain!" Thy sons salute thee, Eire! - See! Freedom's dawn is flushing in the skies! - - Dark Rosaleen, thy trampled flag, we swear it, - Shall lift its sheen triumphant in the sun! - Thy galling chain, our gallant sword shall save her, - Ended thy pain and weeping, dearest one! - In plaintive strains our hearts shall mourn our heroes, - Till once again thy banner waveth free, - Close to thy breast, then guard them, gentle Eire, - There shall they rest till time shall cease to be! - - -If any proof were needed of the unbroken spirit of our men after the -rising, there could be none better than in the gay and challenging tone -of many of the songs written and sung at the internment camp at -Frongoch, Wales. The British guards were particularly irritated by one -in which every verse ended with the line: - - - "Sinn Feiners, Pro-Germans, alive, alive O!" - - -But there was another that the guards not only tolerated but took to -singing themselves, much to the amusement of our men. The reason they -sang it was because the air was catchy and they had no means of knowing -that the "N. D. U." is the North Dublin Union or workhouse. It was -written by Jack McDonagh, brother of Thomas McDonagh, the poet, who -signed the proclamation of the republic and was shot for it. Here is the -chorus: - - - Come along and join the British Army, - Show that you're not afraid, - Put your name upon the roll of honor, - In the Dublin "Pal's Brigade"! - They'll send you out to France or Flanders, - To show that you're true blue, - But when the war is o'er, - They won't need you any more, - So they'll shut you in the N.D.U.! - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] Pronounced "barnabweel," which means, "gap of danger." - - -THE END - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Doing My Bit For Ireland, by Margaret Skinnider - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND *** - -***** This file should be named 52740-8.txt or 52740-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/7/4/52740/ - -Produced by Brownfox, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Doing My Bit For Ireland - -Author: Margaret Skinnider - -Release Date: August 6, 2016 [EBook #52740] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND *** - - - - -Produced by Brownfox, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="mynote"><p class="center">Transcriber's Note:<br /><br /> -A Table of Contents has been added.<br /></p></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">DOING MY BIT<br />FOR IRELAND</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i004.jpg" id="i004.jpg"></a><img src="images/i004.jpg" alt="MARGARET SKINNIDER" /></div> - -<p class="bold">MARGARET SKINNIDER</p> - -<p class="center">School-teacher, suffragist, nationalist:<br />wounded while fighting in the -uniform of<br />the Irish Volunteers</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - -<h1>DOING MY BIT<br />FOR IRELAND</h1> - -<p class="bold space-above">BY</p> - -<p class="bold">MARGARET SKINNIDER</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">ILLUSTRATED</p> - -<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/logo.jpg" alt="logo" /></div> - -<p class="bold space-above">NEW YORK<br />THE CENTURY CO.<br />1917</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">Copyright, 1917, by<br /><span class="smcap">The Century Co.</span><br />———<br /> -<i>Published, June, 1917</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - -<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> - -<p>When the revolt of a people that feels itself oppressed is successful, -it is written down in history as a revolution—as in this country in -1776. When it fails, it is called an insurrection—as in Ireland in -1916. Those who conquer usually write the history of the conquest. For -that reason the story of the "Dublin Insurrection" may become legendary -in Ireland, where it passes from mouth to mouth, and may remain quite -unknown throughout the rest of the world, unless those of us who were in -it and yet escaped execution, imprisonment, or deportation, write -truthfully of our personal part in the rising of Easter week.</p> - -<p>It was in my own right name that I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> applied for a passport to come to -this country. When it was granted me after a long delay, I wondered if, -after all, the English authorities had known nothing of my activity in -the rising. But that can hardly be, for it was a Government detective -who came to arrest me at the hospital in Dublin where I was recovering -from wounds received during the fighting.</p> - -<p>I was not allowed to stay in prison; the surgeon in charge of the -hospital insisted to the authorities at Dublin Castle that I was in no -condition to be locked up in a cell. But later they might have arrested -me, for I was in Dublin twice—once in August and again in November. On -both occasions detectives were following me. I have heard that three -days after I openly left my home in Glasgow to come to this country, -inquiries were made for me of my family and friends.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p><p>That there is some risk in publishing my story, I am well aware; but -that is the sort of risk which we who love Ireland must run, if we are -to bring to the knowledge of the world the truth of that heroic attempt -last spring to free Ireland and win for her a place as a small but -independent nation, entitled to the respect of all who love liberty. It -is to win that respect, even though we failed to gain our freedom, that -I tell what I know of the rising.</p> - -<p>I find that here in America it is hard to imagine a successful Irish -revolt, but there was more than a fighting chance for us as our plans -were laid. Ireland can easily be defended by the population once they -are aroused, for the country is well suited to guerilla warfare, and the -mountains near the coast form a natural defense from attack by sea. Nor -do the people have to go outside for their food. They could easily live -for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> years in the interior on what the soil is capable of producing. And -there is plenty of ammunition in Ireland, too. If we had been able to -take the British as completely off guard in the country districts as we -did in Dublin—had there not been the delay of a day in carrying out -concerted action—we could have seized all the arms and ammunition of -the British arsenals on the island.</p> - -<p>To-day it would be harder, for the British are not likely to be again -caught unaware of our plans. Besides, they are taking precautions. -Drilling of any sort is forbidden; foot-ball games are not allowed; all -excursions are prohibited. The people are not allowed to come together -in numbers on any occasion.</p> - -<p>For a long time after the rising, I dreamed every night about it. The -dream was not as it actually took place, for the streets were different<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span> -and the strategic plans changed, while the outcome was always -successful. My awakening was a bitter disappointment, yet the memory of -our failure is a greater memory than many of us ever dared to hope.</p> - -<p>In all the literature of the Celtic revival through which Ireland has -gained fresh recognition from the world, there is no finer passage nor -one that can mean so much to us, than that paragraph of the last -proclamation which Padraic Pearse wrote in the ruined Dublin post-office -when under shell and shrapnel fire. At a moment when he knew that the -rising had been defeated, that the end of his supreme attempt had come, -he wrote:</p> - -<p>"For four days they (the men) have fought and toiled, almost without -cessation, almost without sleep; and in the intervals of fighting, they -have sung songs of the freedom of Ireland. No<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> man has complained, no -man has asked 'why?'. Each individual has spent himself, happy to pour -out his strength for Ireland and for freedom. If they do not win this -fight, they will at least have deserved to win it. But win it they will, -although they may win it in death. Already they have won a great thing. -They have redeemed Dublin from many shames, and made her name splendid -among the names of cities."</p> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/i012.jpg" alt="Signature" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<h2><span>CONTENTS</span></h2> - -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">INTRODUCTION</td> - <td><a href="#Page_v">v</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER I</td> - <td><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER II</td> - <td><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER III</td> - <td><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER IV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER V</td> - <td><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VIII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER IX</td> - <td><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER X</td> - <td><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XIII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XIV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">SONGS SUNG BY THE IRISH</td> - <td><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p> - -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table summary="ILLUSTRATIONS"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Margaret Skinnider</td> - <td><a href="#i004.jpg"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Irish Cross Presented to the Author</td> - <td><a href="#i016.jpg">2</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Constance Gore-Booth, Countess de Markievicz</td> - <td><a href="#i021.jpg">7</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Margaret Skinnider wearing Boy's Clothes</td> - <td><a href="#i035.jpg">21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">A Fianna Boy</td> - <td><a href="#i067.jpg">53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">James Connolly</td> - <td><a href="#i107.jpg">93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Proclamation of the Irish Republic</td> - <td><a href="#i121.jpg">107</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Belt Buckle</td> - <td><a href="#i149a.jpg">135</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Stamps issued by the Irish Republic</td> - <td><a href="#i149b.jpg">135</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Pearse's Last Proclamation</td> - <td><a href="#i165.jpg">151</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Order that made the Surrender of the College of Surgeons Inevitable</td> - <td><a href="#i175.jpg">160</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Pass Out of Ireland</td> - <td><a href="#i213.jpg">196</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">DOING MY BIT FOR<br />IRELAND</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i016.jpg" id="i016.jpg"></a><img src="images/i016.jpg" alt="THE IRISH CROSS PRESENTED TO THE AUTHOR" /></div> - -<p class="bold">THE IRISH CROSS PRESENTED TO THE<br />AUTHOR</p> - -<p class="center">The inscription reads: "The Cumman-na-mBan<br />and Irish Volunteers, -Glasgow, present this to<br />Margaret Skinnider for the work she did for -Ireland,<br />Easter Week, 1916."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">DOING MY BIT FOR<br />IRELAND</p> - -<h2>I</h2> - -<p>Just before Christmas a year ago, I accepted an invitation to visit some -friends in the north of Ireland, where, as a little girl, I had spent -many midsummer vacations. My father and mother are Irish, but have lived -almost all their lives in Scotland and much of that time in Glasgow. -Scotland is my home, but Ireland my country.</p> - -<p>On those vacation visits to County Monaghan, Ulster, I had come to know -the beauty of the inland country, for I stayed nine miles from the town -of Monaghan. We used to go there in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> jaunting-car and on the way -passed the fine places of the rich English people—the "Planter" people -we called them because they were of the stock that Cromwell brought over -from England and planted on Irish soil. We would pass, too, the small -and poor homes of the Irish, with their wee bit of ground. It was then I -began to feel resentment, though I was only a child.</p> - -<p>In Scotland there were no such contrasts for me to see, but there were -the histories of Ireland,—not those the English have written but those -read by all the young Irish to-day after they finish studying the -Anglicized histories used in the schools. I did it the other way about, -for I was not more than twelve when a boy friend loaned me a big thick -book, printed in very small type, an Irish history of Ireland. Later I -read the school histories and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> the resentment I had felt in County -Monaghan grew hotter.</p> - -<p>Then there were the old poems which we all learned. My favorite was, -"The Jackets Green," the song of a young girl whose lover died for -Ireland in the time of William III. The red coat and the green jacket! -All the differences between the British and Irish lay in the contrast -between those two colors. William III, too! Up to his reign the Irish -army had been a reality; Ireland had had a population of nine millions. -To-day there are only four millions of Irish in Ireland, a country that -could easily support five times that number in ease and comfort. The -history of my country after the time of William III seemed to me to be a -history of oppression which we should tell with tears if we did not tell -it with anger.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p><p>But I believed the time was at hand to do something. We <i>all</i> believed -that; for an English war is always the signal for an Irish rising. Ever -since this war began, I had been hearing of vague plans. In Glasgow I -belonged to the Irish Volunteers and to the Cumman-na-mBan, an -organization of Irish girls and women. I had learned to shoot in one of -the rifle practice clubs which the British organized so that women could -help in the defense of the Empire. These clubs had sprung up like -mushrooms and died as quickly, but I kept on till I was a good marksman. -I believed the opportunity would soon come to defend my own country. And -now I was going over at Christmas to learn what hope there was of a -rising in the spring.</p> - -<p>After all, I did not go to the quiet hills of Monaghan, but to Dublin at -the invitation of the most patriotic and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>revolutionary woman in all -Ireland. Constance Gore-Booth, who by her marriage with a member of the -Polish nobility became the Countess Markievicz, had heard of my work in -the Cumman-na-mBan and wanted to talk with me. She knew where all the -men and women who loved Ireland were working, and sooner or later met -them all, in spite of the fact that she was of Planter stock and by -birth of the English nobility in Ireland.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i021.jpg" id="i021.jpg"></a><img src="images/i021.jpg" alt="CONSTANCE GORE-BOOTH, COUNTESS DE MARKIEVICZ" /></div> - -<p class="bold">CONSTANCE GORE-BOOTH, COUNTESS DE MARKIEVICZ</p> - -<p class="center">One of the leaders of the rising. (Her death sentence was<br />commuted to -life imprisonment)</p> - -<p>It was at night that I crossed the Irish Sea. All other passengers went -to their state-rooms, but I stayed on deck. Leaning back in a -steamer-chair, with my hat for a pillow, I dropped asleep. That I ever -awakened was a miracle. In my hat I was carrying to Ireland detonators -for bombs, and the wires were wrapped around me under my coat. That was -why I had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> not wanted to go to a state-room where I might run into a -hot-water pipe or an electric wire that would set them off. But -pressure, they told me when I reached Dublin, is just as dangerous, and -my head had been resting heavily on them all night!</p> - -<p class="space-above">It is hard now to think of that hospitable house in Leinster Road with -all the life gone out of it and its mistress in an English prison. Every -one coming to Dublin who was interested in plays, painting, the Gaelic -language, suffrage, labor, or Irish Nationalism, visited there. The -Countess Markievicz kept "open house" not only for her friends, but for -her friends' friends. As one of them has written: "Until she came down -to breakfast in the morning, she never knew what guests she had under -her roof. In order not to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>disturb her, they often climbed in through -the window late at night."</p> - -<p>The place was full of books; you could not walk about without stumbling -over them. There were times, too, when the house looked like the -wardrobe in a theater. You would meet people coming down-stairs in all -manner of costume for their part in plays the count wrote and -"Madam"—as we called her—acted with the help of whoever were her -guests. These theatrical costumes were sometimes used for plays put on -at the Abbey Theater, near by. They served, too, as disguises for -suffragettes or labor leaders wanted by the police. The house was always -watched whenever there was any sort of agitation in Dublin.</p> - -<p>I remember hearing of one labor leader whom the police hoped to arrest -before he could address a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>mass-meeting. He was known to visit Madam, so -the plainclothes men made for Surrey House at once. When they arrived -they found a fancy-dress ball going on to welcome the count back from -Poland. All windows were lighted, music for dancing could be heard, and -guests in carriages and motors were arriving. This was no likely haunt -for a labor agitator, so they went away. But caution brought them back -the next morning, for rumor still had it that their man was hiding -there. They waited about the house all that morning and afternoon. Many -persons came and went, among them an old man who walked with difficulty -and leaned upon the arm of a young woman. The police paid no more -attention to him than to the others, but it was the labor leader in one -of the disguises from the theatrical wardrobe. He made his speech that -night <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>surrounded by such a crowd of loyal defenders that he could not -be arrested.</p> - -<p>During the Transport Workers' strike in 1913, Madam threw open her house -as a place of refuge where strikers were sure to find something to eat -or a spot to sleep, if only on the drawing-room floor. In addition, she -sold her jewels to obtain money to establish soup-kitchens for their -families. Her energy and courage always led her where the conflict was -hottest. I do not think she knew what it was to be afraid, once she -decided upon a course of action. Although belonging to the most -privileged class in Ireland by birth and education, as a little girl she -had thrown herself into the Irish cause. She and her sister Eva used to -go to the stables, take horses without permission, and ride at a mad -pace to the big meetings. There they would hear the great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> Parnell or -the eloquent Michael Davitt tell the story of the wrongs done to -Ireland, and urge upon their hearers great courage and self-sacrifice -that these wrongs might be righted. If all those at such meetings had -heeded the speakers' words as did this little daughter of Lady -Gore-Booth; had they surrendered themselves as completely as she did, I -verily believe we would to-day be far along the road toward a free -Ireland.</p> - -<p>As a child all the villagers on her father's estate loved Madam, for -they felt her sincerity. When she was sent away to school or went to -Paris to study painting, for which she had marked talent, they missed -her. It was while she was in Paris that she met and married another -artist, a member of the Polish nobility. Poland and Ireland! Two -countries which have had their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> great history and their great -humiliation now have their hope of freedom!</p> - -<p>Neither the count nor countess were willing to permanently give up their -country of birth, so they decided to live part of the time in Dublin and -part of the time on his estates near Warsaw. It was while Madam was in -Poland that she learned some of the fine old Polish airs to which she -later put words for the Irish. Upon her return to Ireland she was at -last expected to take her place as a social leader in the Dublin Castle -set. Instead, she went more ardently than ever into all the different -movements that were working towards the freedom of Ireland.</p> - -<p>About this time Baden-Powell was organizing his British Boy Scouts in -Ireland. He was so much impressed with the success Padraic Pearse was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> -having with Irish boys that he asked him to help him in the Boy Scout -movement. Pearse did not care to make potential British soldiers out of -Irish boys, however, and refused this invitation. The incident stirred -Madam to urge an Irish Boy Scout movement. She could not find any one to -take it up with energy, so she decided to do it herself with Pearse's -coöperation. Madam had never done work of this sort, but that did not -deter her. Since it must be an organization that would do something for -Irish spirit in Irish boys, she named it after the Fianna Fireann, a -military organization during the reign of Cormac MacAirt, one of the old -Irish heroes. Its story was one of daring and chivalry such as would -appeal to boys. With this name went instruction in Ireland's history in -the days of her independence and great deeds, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> well as instruction in -scouting and shooting.</p> - -<p>At Cullenswood House, where Padraic Pearse had his boys' school until it -outgrew these quarters, there is a fresco in the hall that pictures an -old Druid warning the boy hero, Cuchullain, that whoever takes up arms -on a certain day will become famous, but will die an early death. The -answer, which became a motto for the boys in that school and also a -prophecy of their teacher's death, is in old Irish beneath the fresco:</p> - -<p>"I care not if my life has only the span of a night and a day if my -deeds be spoken of by the men of Ireland!"</p> - -<p>It was in this spirit of devotion to Ireland that the Fianna boys were -drilled. The house in Leinster Road was always running over with them, -some as young as ten years. You would find them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> studying hard or, just -as likely, sliding down the fine old banisters. Madam never went -anywhere that they did not follow as a bodyguard. They loved her and -trusted her, a high compliment, since I have always found that boys are -keen judges of sincerity. If her work had been either pose or mere -hysterical enthusiasm, as some English "friends" in Dublin have sought -to make the world believe, these boys would have discovered it quickly -enough. As it was, they remained her friends, and two of the younger -men, executed after Easter Week, were volunteer officers who received -their first training under Madam in the Fianna.</p> - -<p>The countess was one of the best shots in Ireland, and taught the boys -how to shoot. After the rising, when we all had surrendered, there still -was one house from which constant and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> effective firing went on for -three days. At last a considerable force of British took it by storm. -Imagine the surprise of the officer in command when he found that its -only occupants were three boys, all under sixteen!</p> - -<p>"Who taught you to shoot like that?" he asked them.</p> - -<p>"The Countess Markievicz," came the answer.</p> - -<p>"How often did she drill you?"</p> - -<p>"Only on Sundays," was the reply.</p> - -<p>"And these great lumps of mine," exclaimed the officer in disgust, "are -drilled twice a day and don't yet know their left foot from their -right!"</p> - -<p>Madam also took real interest in the personal problems of her boys. -While I was staying with her at Christmas, she was teaching a boy to -sing. He was slowly growing blind, and nothing could be done to save his -sight; but she <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>determined that he should have a livelihood, and spent -hours of her crowded days in teaching him the words and music of all the -best patriotic songs and ballads. If she heard that any of the boys were -sick, she would have them brought over to Surrey House where she herself -could nurse and cheer them. Between times she would rouse their love of -country to a desire to study its history.</p> - -<p>When I told Madam I could pass as a boy, even if it came to wrestling or -whistling, she tried me out by putting me into a boy's suit, a Fianna -uniform. She placed me under the care of one of her boys to whom she -explained I was a girl, but that, since it might be necessary some day -to disguise me as a boy, she wanted to find whether I could escape -detection. I was supposed to be one of the Glasgow Fianna. We went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> out, -joined the other Fianna, and walked about the streets whistling rebel -tunes. Whenever we passed a British soldier we made him take to the -gutter, telling him the streets of Dublin were no place "for the likes -of him."</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i035.jpg" id="i035.jpg"></a><img src="images/i035.jpg" alt="MARGARET SKINNIDER" /></div> - -<p class="bold">MARGARET SKINNIDER</p> - -<p class="center">(wearing boy's clothes)</p> - -<p>The boys took me for one of themselves, and some began to tell me their -deeds of prowess in Dublin. Ever since the war began they had gone about -to recruiting meetings, putting speakers to rout and sometimes upsetting -the platforms. This sounds like rowdyism, but it is only by such tests -of courage and strength that the youth of a dominated race can acquire -the self-confidence needed later for the real struggle.</p> - -<p>They sang for me Madam's "Anti-recruiting Song," which they always used -as an accompaniment to their attacks on recruiting-booths. Its first two -lines go thus:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>The recruiters are raidin' old Dublin, boys!</div> -<div>It's them we'll have to be troublin', boys!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>And the last two lines are:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>From a Gael with a gun the Briton will run!</div> -<div>And we'll dance at the wake of the Empire, boys!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>These disturbances by the Fianna were part of a campaign by which -Nationalists hoped to keep Irishmen out of the war and ready for their -own fight when the time came. Many were kept at home, but hundreds, -thrown out of work by their employers with the direct purpose of making -them enter the British army, had to enlist for the pitiful "king's -shilling." Nothing so illustrates the complete lack of humor of the -British as their method of arousing interest in the war. They declared -it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> was the part of England to "defend the honor and integrity of small -nations"!</p> - -<p>Even before the war the countess had watched for any opportunity to -destroy militarist propaganda. Although England has won the world's -heart by explaining she never considered there was danger of war, and -for that reason the preparedness of her enemy was an unfair advantage, -still, we had heard of the German menace for a long time. It was -announced in Dublin that the play, "An Englishman's Home," which had had -a long run in London, where it pictured to thousands the invasion of -England by the Germans, was to open for an equally long run in the Irish -capital to stir us to take precautions against invasion.</p> - -<p>Madam took her Fianna boys in full force to the opening night -performance. They occupied pit and gallery while the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> rest of the -theater was filled with British officers and their wives. The fine -uniforms and evening dress made a great showing, for Dublin is the most -heavily garrisoned city of its size in the world.</p> - -<p>The play went on peacefully enough until the Germans appeared on the -stage. At their first appearance as the invading foe, the Fianna, in -green shirts and saffron kilts, stood up and sung in German "The Watch -on the Rhine," just as the countess had taught it to them.</p> - -<p>Of course there was consternation, but after a moment an officer stood -up and began to sing "God Save the King." All the other officers and the -"ascendancy people," as we call our English upper class in Ireland, rose -and joined him. But you cannot safely sing "God Save the King" in -Dublin. Eggs and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> vegetables at once began to fly, and the curtain had -to be rung down. So ended the Dublin run of "An Englishman's Home"!</p> - -<p>These things the Fianna boys told me on our way to the shooting-gallery -where they wanted to see the Glasgow "boy" shoot. I hit the bull's-eye -oftener than any of them, much to the delight of the boy who knew I was -a girl. He was not much surprised, however, for by her own skill Madam -had accustomed them to expect good marksmanship in a woman.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p> - -<h2>II</h2> - -<p>As this was my first visit to Dublin, Madam thought I might want to see -some of the sights. She took me to a museum and next suggested that we -visit an art gallery.</p> - -<p>"What I really want to see," I told her, "is the poorest part of Dublin, -the very <i>poorest</i> part."</p> - -<p>This pleased her, for her heart is always there. She took me to Ash -Street. I do not believe there is a worse street in the world than Ash -Street. It lies in a hollow where sewage runs and refuse falls; it is -not paved and is full of holes. One might think it had been under -shell-fire. Some of the houses have fallen down,—from sheer <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>weariness -it seems,—while others are shored up at the sides with beams. The -fallen houses look like corpses, the others like cripples leaning upon -crutches.</p> - -<p>Dublin is full of such streets, lanes, and courts where houses, years -ago condemned by the authorities, are still tenanted. These houses are -symbolic of the downfall of Ireland. They were built by rich Irishmen -for their homes. To-day they are tenements for the poorest Irish people, -but they have not been remodeled for this purpose, and that is one -reason why them seem so appalling—the poor among the ruins of grandeur.</p> - -<p>In one room, perhaps a drawing-room, you find four families, each in its -own corner, with sometimes not as much as the tattered curtains for -partitions. Above them may be a ceiling of wonderfully modeled and -painted figures, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> form of decoration the art of which has been lost. -At the end of this room is a mantel of purest white marble over an -enormous fireplace long ago blocked up, except for a small opening in -which a few coals at a time may be burned. The doors of such a room are -often made of solid mahogany fifteen feet in height.</p> - -<p>The gas company of Dublin refuses to furnish gas above the second floor, -and the little fireplaces can never give enough heat, even when fuel is -comparatively plentiful. As I write, coal is fifteen dollars a ton, and -is costing the poor, who buy in small quantities, from thirty to -forty-five per cent. more.</p> - -<p>In Dublin there are more than twenty thousand such rooms in which one or -more families are living. That epidemics are not more deadly speaks well -for the fundamental health of those who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> live in them, for there are no -sanitary arrangements. Water is drawn from a single tap somewhere in the -backyard. The only toilet, to be used by all the people in any one of -these houses, is also in the backyard or, worse still, in a dark, -unventilated basement.</p> - -<p>The head of a family in these one-time "mansions," which number several -thousand, seldom makes more than four or five dollars a week! Of this -amount, if they want the luxury of even a small room to themselves, they -must pay about a dollar. Is it any wonder that the word "rent" has a -fearful sound to the Irish? After this rent is paid, there is not much -left for food and clothes. Starvation, even in time of peace, is always -hovering near. Bread and tea for breakfast, but rarely butter; bread and -tea, and either herrings or potatoes, sometimes with cabbage, for their -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>midday meal; bread and tea for supper. Two fifths of the inhabitants of -Dublin live on this fare the year round. If they have beef or mutton -once a week they must eat it boiled or fried, since the fireplaces are -too primitive for roasting or baking. Neither will they permit baking of -bread or cakes.</p> - -<p>Yet Ireland could raise fruit and vegetables and grain for twenty -million people! I have seen ships deep laden with food for need of which -the Irish are slowly starving—I contend undernourishment <i>is</i> -starvation—going in a steady stream to England. The reason was that the -English were able to pay better prices than the man at home. Food, since -the beginning of the war, has literally been drained out of the country. -Ireland to-day is in a state of famishment, if not of famine.</p> - -<p>Here in Dublin, though the streets<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> and lanes seem full of children, the -death-rate is tremendously high. The population of all Ireland has -decreased fifty per cent. in fifty years. In Poland, under the rule of -the Russian czar, the population increased. It is one thing to read -about Irish "grievances," it is another to be living where they go on -year after year.</p> - -<p>"Grievance"—that is the way the British sum up our sense of wrong, and -with such effect that people the world over fancy our wrongs are not -wrongs but imagined grievances. The word itself counts against us in the -eyes of those who have never been to Ireland and seen for themselves the -conditions under which the great majority of the population must live. -To be sure, there are always complaints carried to Parliament and then a -"commission of inquiry," followed a little later<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> by a "report upon -conditions." But the actual results seem small. It was disgust for this -sort of carrying out complaints in a basket and bringing back reports in -the very same basket that roused Arthur Griffith to write his pamphlet -on Hungary and her rebuilding from <i>within</i>. He felt that the Irish, -too, must set about saving themselves without political help from -parliamentarians. He even went so far as to say that, since Irishmen who -went to Parliament seemed so soon to forget their country except as it -served their political advancement, we ought not to send men to -Parliament. Ireland, he declared, should concentrate upon the economic -and industrial life possible to her—a life that could be developed -wonderfully if men set out to win Ireland for the Irish. This propaganda -of Griffith's—for it soon became such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>—stirred all the young men and -women who before had been hopeless. "Ireland for the Irish!" The -movement quickly became what is called the "Sinn Fein," which is Gaelic -for "Ourselves Alone."</p> - -<p>That this organization should be considered in America as a sort of -"Black Hand," or anarchistic society, is evidence of the impression it -made upon the English as a powerful factor to be reckoned with. It had -come into being overnight, but its principles were as old as Ireland. It -sprang from a love of Ireland and not, as many believe, from hatred of -England. It could not have thrived as it did wherever it touched a young -heart and brain if it had merely been a protest. It had a national ideal -and goal. Every day was dedicated to it. To speak the Irish language; to -wear Irish-made clothes of Irish tweed;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> to think and feel, write, -paint, or work for the best interests of Ireland; to make every act, -personal or communal, count for the betterment of Ireland—all this was -animated by love of our country. The Sinn Fein was constantly inspired -by poems and essays which appeared in Arthur Griffith's weekly magazine. -That poetry to-day is known throughout civilization as the poetry of the -"Celtic Revival."</p> - -<p>There was a gospel of "passive resistance," too, which led Irishmen to -refuse to pay taxes or take any part in the Anglicizing of Ireland. It -was this phase that soon won the disapproval of the party that stood for -parliamentary activity, and naturally it aroused dissatisfaction in -England.</p> - -<p class="space-above">From Ash Street the countess took me to Glasnevin Cemetery, where men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> -lie buried, who, having lived under conditions such as I had just looked -upon, spent their lives in protest against the same. Here was the grave -of O'Donovan Rossa and a score of others whom I felt were heroes. Here, -also, was the grave of Anne Devlin, that brave woman who refused to -betray Robert Emmet to the British officers seeking him after his -unsuccessful effort to oppose English rule in 1803. These graves and the -ruinous houses of Ash Street show patriotism and poverty working for -each other and, despite themselves, against each other.</p> - -<p>A few months after my visit, there was fighting all about Glasnevin -Cemetery between the Royal Irish Constabulary and those who were to -carry on the traditions of the great struggle.</p> - -<p>Not far from the home of Countess Markievicz stand the Portobello -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>barracks, while much farther off are the Beggar's Bush barracks. She -asked me one day if I thought I could make a plan of the latter from -observation that would be of use if at any time it was decided to -dynamite them. She gave no explanation, did not even tell me in what -part of Dublin the barracks were located nor that two officers of the -Irish Volunteers had already tried to make this plan and had failed. But -she knew that I had had experience in gaging distances and drawing maps. -I had just taken a course in calculus, and it was when telling her of my -love for mathematics that she set me this task.</p> - -<p>There was a large map of Dublin on the wall of a study in her house. I -scrutinized this carefully, for I did not know my way alone about -Dublin. Then I started out and found the place without great difficulty. -It is in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> southwestern outskirts of the city, a large, brick -structure filling in the right angle where two streets meet. From this -corner I walked very slowly along the front of the barracks, counting my -paces, gaging the height of the outer wall, and studying the building -itself for anything its secretive exterior might betray. I presently -noticed that the loopholes which appeared in the wall at regular -intervals stopped short a number of yards from the corner. They had been -filled in with bricks of a slightly different color than the rest of the -wall. At once I asked myself why this had been done and, to discover the -reason, if possible, crossed the street to where I could look over the -wall. I was able to see that within the right angle at the corner was a -small, circular building. It stood close to both the front and side -wall, yet did not touch either.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> There was room for a sentry to walk -around it, and all loopholes near it had been bricked up.</p> - -<p>The conclusion I drew from this fact was that here was a powder -magazine. It was so placed as not to be too noticeable from the street, -easily guarded by a sentry, and conveniently near the loopholes in case -defense of the barracks became necessary.</p> - -<p>I walked away, and next approached the barracks from another side. Here -I found that between the street and the main wall was a low outer wall -about my own height. When I reached the spot where I thought the -magazine ought to be, I took my handkerchief and let it -blow—accidentally, of course—over this outer wall. A passing boy -gallantly offered to get it for me. Being a woman and naturally curious, -I found it necessary to pull myself up on tiptoe to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> watch him as he -climbed over the wall. The ground between the two walls had not been -paved, but was of soft earth. I had seen enough. Thanking the boy, I put -my handkerchief carefully into my pocket so as not to trouble any one -else by making them climb about on Dublin walls, and went on my way.</p> - -<p>Upon my return to Leinster Road, I gave the distances and heights I had -taken to Madam, describing the way a hole could be dug, under cover of a -dark night, between the two walls close to where the magazine stood. A -quantity of explosive could be placed in this hole, a long wire could be -attached to a detonator and laid along the outer wall for some distance, -and then, without being noticed, some one could touch the end of the -wire with the battery from a pocket flashlamp. The explosion that -followed, I felt sure, would blow up not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> only the inner wall, but the -wall of the magazine and set off the powder stored therein. Madam asked -me to write this all down. Later she showed what I had written to the -man who was to be Commander-in-chief of the Republican army in Dublin, -James Connolly. He knew Beggar's Bush barracks well enough to see that -my map was correct and believed the plan practicable enough to carry out -in case conscription should become a fact in Ireland despite all -promises to the contrary.</p> - -<p>But the test I had been put to was, it seemed, not merely a test of my -ability to draw maps and figure distances. From that day I was taken -into the confidence of the leaders of the movement for making Ireland a -republic.</p> - -<p>The situation, I learned from Mr. Connolly, was very hopeful, because -for the first time in hundreds of years those<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> who were planning a -revolution to free Ireland had organized bodies of Irishmen who not only -were well trained in the use of firearms, but so full of the spirit of -the undertaking that they were ready at a moment's notice to mobilize. -There was the Irish Citizen Army which Mr. Connolly had organized after -the Transport Workers' strike to defend working-men from onslaughts by -the police. I do not believe any one who has not seen what we call a -"baton charge" of the Dublin police can quite comprehend the motives -which make for such ruthless methods.</p> - -<p>In the first place, whenever the police are called out for strike duty -or to be on the lookout for rioting, they are given permission to drink -all they wish. At the station-houses are big barrels of porter from -which the police are expected to help themselves freely. Then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> the -saloon-keepers—we call them publicans—are not expected to refuse a -drink to any policeman who demands it, and are paid or not according to -the mood of the protector of the public peace. Add to this that the -police do not attack in order to disperse a crowd, but to kill. In a -public square where a crowd has gathered to hear a labor speech, the -police assemble on four sides and, upon a given signal, rush to the -center, pushing even innocent passers-by into the midst of the crowd -that, on the instant, has become a mob. Then the police use their batons -like shillalahs, swinging them around and around before bringing them -down upon the heads of the people.</p> - -<p>Fearing one of these baton attacks in 1913, Madam, having come down to -the square in her car, had just stepped out upon the sidewalk when she -was struck<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> full in the face by a policeman's club! On that same day, -too, the police rushed into the adjoining streets and clubbed every -person they met, even people several blocks from the square who, at the -moment, were coming out of church from vesper service.</p> - -<p>Mr. Connolly found that in any strike in Ireland the interests of -England and of the employer were the same; that his strikers had to meet -the two members of the opposition without any defense. Therefore he had -organized the men who were fighting for better hours and wages into a -"Citizen Army." It is against the law for any one to bear arms in -Ireland, but in this case the authorities could do nothing because they -had not disarmed the men of Ulster when the latter armed and drilled to -defend themselves against Home Rule, should it become a fact. The -Ulster-men were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> openly planning insurrection under Sir Edward -Carson—insurrection against a law, a political measure desired by the -majority! It was an anarchistic outbreak that Carson had in mind. Mr. -Connolly, on the other hand, was organizing simply for defense against -police power that had grown unbridled in its activities. No one -interfered with him.</p> - -<p>As always, this organization was under surveillance, and reports about -it were sent to the authorities. But there appeared to be no more than -three hundred members, a small body not dangerous to the police if it -should come into conflict with them. It was not known that there were -several times three hundred members, but that only this number was -allowed to drill or march at any one time. This drilling baffled the -police. Many a night the three hundred would be mobilized and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> quietly -march through Dublin out into the country, the police trailing wearily -and nervously after them, expecting some excitement along the line of -march. Nothing ever happened. Back to town in the wee, small hours the -police would come, only to see the men disperse as quietly as they had -assembled and go home to bed. After this had happened many times, it no -longer attracted official attention. Only perfunctory reports were made -of any mobilization of the Citizen Army, and thus it came about that on -Easter Sunday the mobilization was taken for nothing more than the usual -drill and not reported.</p> - -<p>The second organization, the Irish Volunteers, was brought into being by -those in favor of Home Rule, and was a makeweight against the -Ulster-men. Since the Irish Volunteers were organized to protect law, to -uphold Home<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> Rule should it become a fact as promised, nothing could be -done by the authorities when the volunteers began to arm themselves. -Besides, nothing had been done to prevent the Ulster-men from arming -themselves. The conservative press in England actually supported the -Ulster-men, and English army officers resigned rather than disarm them. -What, then, could they be expected to do to a body of men who stood for -law and order instead of opposing it as in Ulster? This situation made -possible a strategic position for the leaders of the Republican -movement.</p> - -<p>Had not the authorities realized that now they would meet with armed -resistance if they broke their promise about conscription, we should -have had to send our brothers to France and Flanders early in the war. -But the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> Citizen Army and the Irish Volunteers had no intention of -allowing men to be carried off to fight England's battles when, for the -first time in many years, there was a chance of winning freedom for -Ireland. To keep this constantly in the public mind, Mr. Connolly had a -large sign hung over the main entrance to Liberty Hall, his headquarters:</p> - -<p class="center">WE SERVE NEITHER KING NOR<br />KAISER, BUT IRELAND</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> - -<h2>III</h2> - -<p>The need of explosives was great, and I took part in a number of -expeditions to obtain them. One night we raided a ship lying in the -river. The sailors were drunk, and three or four of our men had no -trouble in getting into the hold. I was standing guard on the other side -of the embankment wall, holding one end of a string that served as a -telegraph between our outposts in the street and our men in the boat. -One jerk from me meant, "Some one coming"; two jerks, "Police"; three -jerks, "Clear out as best you can."</p> - -<p>Suddenly I heard the outpost up the street whistling a patriotic tune. -This was a signal to me. It meant the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>police were coming. I gave two -jerks of the string and waited.</p> - -<p>A policeman came slowly toward me. He had his dark-lantern and, catching -sight of me, flashed it in my face. He stared, but said nothing. No -doubt he was wondering what a decently dressed girl was doing in that -part of town at such an hour. I watched him as closely as he watched me. -If he caught sight of my string, I intended to give three jerks, and, at -the same moment, throw pepper in his face, my only weapon.</p> - -<p>But he did not notice the string, and passed on. My heart had stopped -beating; now it began again, though I felt rather queer. Risks like this -have to be taken, however, when one is preparing a revolution and has -neither firearms nor ammunition, the people in power having put an -embargo upon them. It is all in the way of war. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> can add that this -raid was as successful as usual.</p> - -<p>One day the countess took several of us, including her dog Poppet, out -beyond Dundrum. Upon our return we could call this expedition "a little -shooting party." And it would be the truth, for Poppet, being an Irish -cocker, more interested in hunting than in revolts, joined himself to -two men who were intent on getting birds. He was of so great assistance -that these men, in recognition of his services, gave us a few of the -birds he brought in. We took them home as trophies.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i067.jpg" id="i067.jpg"></a><img src="images/i067.jpg" alt="A FIANNA BOY" /></div> - -<p class="bold">A FIANNA BOY</p> - -<p>But the whole truth was that we had been out to test dynamite. We were -looking for some old wall to blow up, and found one on the side of a -hill. After the hunters had disappeared, two of us were posted with -field-glasses while Madam set off the explosive. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> was a lonely place, -so we were not disturbed. The great stones flew into the air with dust -and thunder. Indeed, the country people round about, when they heard -that rumble and saw the cloud of smoke, must have wondered at the sudden -thunder-storm on the hill.</p> - -<p>An Irishman told me once that, although he had hoped for a revolution -and worked for it, he had never felt it would be a reality until one -night when he and some friends, out cross-country walking in the -moonlight, came upon Madam and her Fianna boys bivouacked in the open. -They had come out for a drill. She was in uniform, with kneebreeches, -puttees, and officer's coat, and the whole scene was martial and -intense.</p> - -<p>The Fianna were proud of the fact that they were the first military -organization in Ireland, four years older than either the Irish Citizen -Army or the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> Irish Volunteers. It was in 1909 that the countess heard of -Baden-Powell coming to Ireland to organize his British Boy Scouts, where -they might be useful later on to the empire. She tried to get people -interested in organizing the same way for Ireland, and finally made this -her own task, though she knew nothing of military tactics and as little -of boys. There was virtually no money or equipment like that in -Baden-Powell's organization, and naturally many blunders were made at -the outset. But she studied both boys and tactics, and finally came to -believe that to succeed, the spirit of old Ireland must be invoked. So -the organization was given the historic Gaelic name, Fianna, with its -flavor of romance and patriotic tradition. The boys saved up their money -for uniforms and equipment, and from the beginning were aware of -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>themselves as an independent, self-respecting body. They have stood -well the test of the revolution.</p> - -<p>One of the most popular actresses at the Abbey Theater in Dublin was -Helen Maloney. Through her energy Mr. Connolly returned from America to -organize the working-men of Ireland, and thus met the countess. From the -friendship and coöperation of these three persons, you can judge how all -class distinction had gone down before the love of Ireland and the -determination to free her.</p> - -<p>James Connolly was a very quiet man at the time I met him, quiet and -tense. He was short and thick-set, with a shrewd eye and determined -speech. He proved a genius at organization, and this was lucky, for in -Dublin there are no great factories, except Guinness's, to employ large -numbers of men, and this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> makes organization difficult. To have managed -such a strike as the Transport Workers' in 1913, after only half a dozen -years of organization, is proof of his great ability. And then to -organize a Citizen's Army!</p> - -<p>Connolly is the answer to those who think the rising was the work of -dreamers and idealists. No one who knew him could doubt that when he led -his army of working-men into battle for the Irish Republic, he believed -there was a good fighting chance to establish such a republic. He was -practical, and had no wish to spill blood for the mere glory of it; -there was nothing melodramatic about him. A north of Ireland man,—he -originally came from the only part of Ireland I know well, County -Monaghan,—he had many times given proof of sound judgment and courage. -He was often at the house of the countess while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> I was visiting her, and -one evening, just before I left, Madam called my attention to the fact -that he was in better spirits than for a long time past. Word had come -to him from America that on or near Easter Sunday a shipful of arms and -ammunition would arrive in Ireland. This news determined the date of the -rising, for it was all that was needed from without to insure success. -We believed this then, and do still.</p> - -<p>We were collecting and hiding what arms and ammunition we could. In -proportion to the amount of courage of those in the secret, so the -dynamite that they hid against the day soon to come grew and -accumulated. Though the house in Leinster Road was always watched, the -countess had it stocked like an arsenal. Bombs and rifles were hidden in -absurd places, for she had the skill to do it and escape detection. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> -French journalist who visited Dublin shortly before the insurrection -possibly came upon some of this evidence, or perhaps it was only the -Fianna uniforms which impressed him, for he wrote:</p> - -<p>"The salon of the Countess Markiewicz is not a salon. It is a military -headquarters."</p> - -<p>Despite this martial ardor, Madam found time to write poetry and -"seditious" songs. This poetry would be in print now had not the house -of Mrs. Wise-Power, where she left it for safekeeping, been blown to -pieces by English gunners when they tried to find the range of the -post-office. Their marksmanship would not have been so poor, perhaps, -had they had the countess to teach them.</p> - -<p>Many of the singers of our old and new lays are in prison, sentenced for -their part in stirring up insurrection,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> even though they had nothing to -do with the rising itself. The authorities seemed to take no notice of -these patriotic concerts while they were being given, but afterward they -paid this modern minstrelsy the tribute it deserved. For these concerts -were full of inspiration to every one who attended. Though all were in -the open, they were, as a matter of fact, "seditious," if that word -means stirring up rebellion against those who rule you against your -will.</p> - -<p>One of the many things I recall gives a clear idea of the untiring and -never-ending enthusiasm of the countess. She realized one day that the -Christmas-cards usually sold in Ireland were "made in Germany," and -since the war was on, had been supplanted by cards "made in England." -She sat down at once to design Irish Christmas-cards for the holiday -season of 1916. But<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> when that Christmas came around she was in prison, -and the cards were—no one can say where.</p> - -<p>When I left Dublin to return to my teaching in Glasgow, they made me -promise that I would come back whenever they sent for me, probably just -before Easter.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> - -<h2>IV</h2> - -<p>When I told my mother on my return of the plans for Easter, she shook -her head.</p> - -<p>"There never was an Irish rising that some one didn't betray it," she -said. "It was so in '67, and before that in 1798."</p> - -<p>But she did not appreciate the spirit I had found in Dublin. I told her -that all were united, rich and poor, dock-workers, school-teachers, -poets, and bar-tenders. They were working together; I believed they -would stand and fight together. And I was right.</p> - -<p>It was not easy to go quietly back to teaching mathematics and hear only -now and then what was going on in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> Dublin. Fortunately, Glasgow is two -fifths Irish. Indeed, there are as many Irish there as in Dublin itself, -and the spirit among the younger generation is perhaps more intense -because we are a little to one side and thus afraid of becoming -outsiders.</p> - -<p>In February, when conscription came to Scotland, there was nothing for -members of the Irish Volunteers in Glasgow to do but to disappear. I -knew one lad of seventeen whose parents, though Irish, wanted him to -volunteer in the service of the empire. He refused, telling them his -life belonged to Ireland. He went over to fight at the time of the -rising, and served a year in prison afterward.</p> - -<p>Whenever an Irish Volunteer was notified to report for service in the -Glasgow contingent of the British army, he would slip across the same -night to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> Ireland, and go to Kimmage, where a camp was maintained for -these boys. While the British military authorities were hunting for them -in Scotland and calling them "slackers," they were drilling and -practising at the target, or making ammunition for a cause they believed -in and for which they were ready to die.</p> - -<p>Presently news came from Dublin that James Connolly had written a play -entitled, "Under which Flag?" We heard also that when it was produced, -it had a great effect upon the public. In this play the hero, during the -last act, chooses the flag of the republic and the final curtain falls. -Some one told Mr. Connolly he ought to write another act to show what -happened afterward. His reply was that another act would have to be -written by "all of us together."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p><p>I know that many people in this country have seen the Irish Players and -felt their work was a great contribution to the drama, but I doubt if -any one here can realize what it means to see upon the stage a play -dealing with your hopes and fears just at a time when one or the other -are about to be realized. For ten years the world has watched with -interest as these plays were staged, as poetry appeared which seemed to -have a new note in it. The world called it a "Celtic Revival." England, -too, was interested, for these Irish playwrights, poets, and painters -served to stimulate her own artists. What if some of the sagas, revived -by archæologists, <i>did</i> picture Irish heroism? What if the theme of play -or poem <i>was</i> a free Ireland? What if school-boys under a Gaelic name -<i>did</i> play at soldiering?</p> - -<p>"Dangerous?" some one asked.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p><p>"Nonsense!" retorted mighty England. "Would poets, pedagogues, and -dreamers dare to lead the Irish people against the imperial power that -had dominated them for centuries? Unthinkable!"</p> - -<p>England has never understood us so little as in these last ten years. -Our pride was growing tremendously—pride not in what we <i>have</i>, but in -what we <i>are</i>. The Celtic Revival was only an expression of this new -pride.</p> - -<p>It was on the eighteenth of April that a member of the Dublin town -council discovered that the British meant to seize all arms and -ammunition of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army. History was -repeating itself. It was on an eighteenth of April that American -colonists discovered the British intention of seizing <i>their</i> arms and -ammunition at Concord. In both cases<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> revolt was made inevitable by this -action.</p> - -<p>What the reason was that led immediately to such an order being given to -the British military authorities in Dublin, I do not know. It had to do -with conscription, of course, and it may have been quickened by the -resistance of the Irish Citizen Army to the police. Madam told me that, -a short time before, the police had attempted one noon to raid Liberty -Hall while they supposed the place was empty. By the merest accident, -she and Mr. Connolly, with one or two others, were still there. The -object of the raid was to get possession of the press on which was -printed "The Workers' Republic," a paper published at the hall by Mr. -Connolly.</p> - -<p>When the first members of the police force entered, Connolly asked them -if they had a warrant. They had none.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> He told them they could not come -in without one. At the same time the countess quietly drew her revolver -and as quietly pointed it in their direction in a playful manner. They -understood her, however, and quickly withdrew to get their warrant.</p> - -<p>Immediately Connolly sent an order for the Citizen Army to mobilize. How -they came! On the run, slipping into uniform coats as they ran; several -from the tops of buildings where they were at work, others from -underground. More than one, thinking this an occasion of some -seriousness, instantly threw up their jobs.</p> - -<p>By the time the police returned with their warrant, the Irish Citizen -Army was drawn up around Liberty Hall, ready to defend it. It was not -raided.</p> - -<p>Mr. Connolly showed me a copy of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> the secret order when I arrived on -Holy Thursday. It read:</p> - -<blockquote><p>The following precautionary measures have been sanctioned by the -Irish Office on recommendation of the General Officer commanding -the forces in Ireland. All preparations will be made to put these -measures in force immediately on receipt of an order issued from -the Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle, and signed by the -Under Secretary and the General Officer commanding the forces in -Ireland.</p> - -<p>First, the following persons will be put under arrest: All members -of the Sinn Fein National Council, the Central Executive Irish Sinn -Fein Volunteer County Board, Irish Sinn Fein Volunteers, Executive -Committee National Volunteers, Coisda Gnotha Committee, Gaelic -League. See list A3 and 4, and supplementary list A2.</p></blockquote> - -<p>I interrupt the order to emphasize the fact that we were all listed, and -that the "Sinn Fein" organization seemed to attract most attention from -the authorities. Indeed, after it was all over, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> rising was often -called the "Sinn Fein Revolt." The Sinn Fein was an organization which -had become a menace to Great Britain because of its tactics of <i>passive -resistance</i>. The words Sinn Fein, as already stated, mean "ourselves -alone," and the whole movement was for an Irish Ireland.</p> - -<p>The Sinn Feiners are likened to the "Black Hand" or other anarchistic -groups by those who read of them as leaders of a "revolt." As a matter -of fact, they were, from the first, the literary, artistic, and economic -personalities who started the Celtic Revival. Arthur Griffiths, who is -not given enough credit for the passion with which he conceived the idea -of working for Ireland as Hungarians worked for Hungary, published a -little weekly magazine in which the first of the new poetry appeared. It -appealed to the deepest <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>instincts in us; it was a revolt of the spirit, -clothing itself in practical deed.</p> - -<p>But it was not a negative program. The refusal to do or say or think in -the Anglicized way, as was expected of us, held in it loyalty to -something fine and free, the existence of which we believed in because -we had read of it in the history of Ireland in our sagas. We were not a -people struggling up into an untried experience, but a people regaining -our kingdom, which at one time in the history of mankind had been called -"great" wherever it was known of or rumored.</p> - -<p>This was the feeling that animated the groups listed by British military -men as the "Sinn Fein National Council" and "Central Executive and -Coisda Gnotha Committee of the Gaelic League," but which to an outsider -cannot, without explanation, give any idea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> of the fire and fervor -implanted in committee and council.</p> - -<p>But to return to the document. It went on:</p> - -<blockquote><p>An order will be issued to the inhabitants of the city to remain in -their homes until such time as the Competent Military Authority may -otherwise direct and permit.</p> - -<p>Pickets chosen from units of Territorial Forces will be at all -points marked on maps 3 and 4. Accompanying mounted patrols will -continuously visit all points and report every hour.</p> - -<p>The following premises will be occupied by adequate forces and all -necessary measures used without need of reference to Headquarters:</p> - -<blockquote><p>First, premises known as Liberty Hall, Beresford Place;<br /> -No. 6 Harcourt Street, Sinn Fein Building;<br /> -No. 2 Dawson Street, Headquarters Volunteers;<br /> -No. 12 D'Olier Street, Nationality Office;<br /> -No. 25 Rutland Square, Gaelic League office;<br /> -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>No. 41 Rutland Square, Foresters' Hall;<br /> -Sinn Fein Volunteer premises in city;<br /> -All National Volunteer premises in city;<br /> -Trades Council premises, Capel Street;<br /> -Surrey House, Leinster Road, Rathmines.</p></blockquote> - -<p>The following premises will be isolated, all communication to or -from them prevented: Premises known as the Archbishop's House, -Drumcondra; Mansion House, Dawson Street; No. 40 Herbert Park, -Ballyboden; Saint Enda's College, Hermitage, Rathfarnham; and, in -addition, premises in list 5 D, see maps 3 and 4.</p></blockquote> - -<p>This order should become a classic, because it is such a good list of -all meeting-places of those who loved and worked for Ireland in the last -few years. Even the home of the countess, Surrey House, was to have been -occupied; and Saint Enda's, the school where Padraic Pearse was head -master and chief inspiration, was to be "isolated."</p> - -<p>Had there been any question about a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> rising, the possession of this -secret order to the military authorities in Dublin would have been the -signal for it. It was not to be expected that these headquarters of all -that was Irish in the city would surrender tamely to "occupation." More -than this, the order gave new determination to a secret organization not -mentioned in it, the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Not that this was a -new organization, or unknown to the British, for, in its several phases, -it had been in existence since 1858. Its oath is secret, yet has been -published in connection with disclosures about the Fenian movement. This -was one of the names it bore, before the rising of 1867 betrayed it to -the Government. So at this time Connolly and Padraic Pearse and -McDonagh, with all those working to free Ireland, were members of this -brotherhood, and the republic seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> nearer becoming a reality than -ever before in the history of the long struggle.</p> - -<p>At Liberty Hall I saw the flag of the republic waiting to be raised. I -saw, too, the bombs and ammunition stored there, and was set to work -with some other girls making cartridges. This was on the Thursday before -Easter. That same evening I was given a despatch to take to Belfast. The -address of the man to whom it was to be delivered was at Mr. Connolly's -home in the outskirts of the city. I was to go there first and get it -from Nora Connolly, then go on to this man.</p> - -<p>I had never been in Belfast, and when I reached the city, it was two -o'clock in the morning. The streets were dark and deserted. I finally -had to ask a policeman which of the few cars running would take me to -that part of town where the Connollys lived. I wonder<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> what he would -have done had he guessed I was bent upon revolutionary business. There -is something very weird in knowing that while things are going on as -usual in the outer world, great changes are coming unawares.</p> - -<p>I rang in vain when I reached the house. Could all the family be -somewhere else? Could I have made a mistake? I was beginning to think so -when a window opened, and I heard a voice say: "It's all right, Mother. -It's only a girl." Presently the door opened. They had been afraid that -it was the police, for in these last few days before the time set, -suspense was keen. At any moment all plans might be given away to the -police and every one arrested. A ring in the middle of the night was -terrifying. They had not been to bed; they were making Red Cross -bandages and learning details of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> equipment and uniform for the -first-aid girls. They had slept little for days, now that the time of -the rising approached.</p> - -<p>We did not dare go out again in the dead of night to hunt up the man for -whom I had brought my despatch. This action would create suspicion. So -about five o'clock, just when the working-people were beginning to go -about their tasks, we took the street car, went into another part of -Belfast, and found him.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Connolly and the girls went back to Dublin with me. They were to be -there during the revolt, and did not know if they would ever see their -home again; but they dared not take anything with them except the -clothes on their backs. Always no suspicion must be aroused; it must -look as if they were starting off for the Easter holidays. This was not -an easy leave-taking, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> there was a fair chance of the house being -sacked and burned. Mrs. Connolly went about, picking up little things -that would go in her trunk but the absence of which would not be noticed -if any inquisitive policeman came in to see whether anything suspicious -was going on. As we left, none of them looked back or gave any show of -feeling. Revolution makes brave actors.</p> - -<p>That afternoon I was again at ammunition work. This time my duty was to -go about Dublin, taking from hiding-places dynamite and bombs secreted -therein. Once, on my way back to Liberty Hall with some dynamite wrapped -in a neat bundle on the seat beside me, I heard a queer, buzzing noise. -It seemed to come from inside the bundle.</p> - -<p>"Is it going off?" I asked myself, and sat tight, expecting every moment -to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> blown to bits. But nothing happened; it was only the car-wheels -complaining as we passed over an uneven bit of track.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> - -<h2>V</h2> - -<p>It was on Saturday morning that I heard the news of our first defeat—a -defeat before we had begun. The ship with arms and ammunition that had -been promised us while I was in Dublin at Christmas, had come into -Tralee Harbor and waited twenty-one hours for the Irish Volunteers of -Tralee to come and unload her. But it had attracted no attention except -from a British patrol-boat, and so had to turn about and put to sea -again. Thereupon, the suspicions of the officials having led them to set -out after the <i>Aud</i>, she had shown her German colors and, in full sight -of the harbor, blew herself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> up rather than allow her valuable cargo to -fall into the hands of the British.</p> - -<p>Besides several machine-guns, twenty thousand rifles and a million -rounds of ammunition were aboard that ship. For every one of those -rifles we could have won a man to carry it in the rebellion. Thus their -loss was an actual loss of fighting strength.</p> - -<p>It all was a blunder that now seems like fate. The <i>Aud</i>, as first -planned, was to arrive on Good Friday. Then the leaders decided it would -be better not to have her arrive until after the rising had begun, or on -Easter. Word of this decision was sent to America, to be forwarded to -Germany. This was done, but the <i>Aud</i> had just sailed, keeping to her -original schedule. She carried no wireless, and so could not be reached at sea.</p> - -<p>I often think the heroic determination<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> of that captain to sink his ship -and crew must have been preceded by many hours of bitterest chagrin and -anxiety. He could not have had the slightest idea why the plan was not -being carried out. It would have been, too, had the Volunteers at -Tralee, remembering the uncertainty of all communication, been on watch -for fear the countermanding order might have miscarried.</p> - -<p>But it was too late now to draw back, even had the leaders so desired. I -do not believe that idea ever entered their heads, for their course of -action had been long planned. Two men, however, were uncertain of the -wisdom of going on with it. One of them, The O'Rahilly, was minister of -munitions in the provisional government and felt the loss keenly, -because his entire plan of work had been based on this cargo now at the -bottom of the ocean. When he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> found that the majority believed success -was still possible, and that the seizure of arms in the British arsenals -in Ireland would compensate for the loss, he gave in and worked as -wholeheartedly as the others. The second man to demur was Professor Eoin -McNeill, who was at the head of the Irish Volunteers as their -commander-in-chief. He did not wish to risk the lives of his men against -such heavy odds. Yet, when he left the conference, he had not given one -hint of actually opposing plans then under discussion.</p> - -<p>As I came out of church on Easter morning, I saw placards everywhere to -this effect:</p> - -<p class="center">NO VOLUNTEER MANŒUVERS<br />TO-DAY</p> - -<p>This was astounding! The manœuvers were to be the beginning of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -revolution. To-day they were not to be the usual, simple drill, but the -real beginning of military action. All over Ireland the Volunteers were -expected to mobilize and stay mobilized until the blow had been -struck—until, perhaps, victory had been won. And the Irish Volunteers -made up two thirds of our fighting force. "No Volunteer manœuvers -to-day"? What could it mean?</p> - -<p>I bought a newspaper and read the order of demobilization, signed by -Professor McNeill. What could have happened? I hurried to Liberty Hall -to find the leaders there as much in the dark as I. They knew McNeill -had been depressed and fearful of results, but they had not supposed him -capable of actually calling off his men from the movement so late in the -day, though this was quite within his technical rights if he wished. -They had taken for granted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> that he, like The O'Rahilly, would prefer to -cast in his lot with the rest of us. I recalled that at Christmas the -countess had been eager to have another head chosen for the Volunteers. -Over and over again she had said that, though McNeill had been splendid -for purposes of organization, and the presence of so earnest and pacific -a man in command of the Volunteers had prevented England from getting -nervous, he was not the man for a crisis. She liked him, but her -intuition proved right. He could not bear that his Irish Volunteers -should risk their lives and gain nothing thereby. He truly believed they -had no chance without the help the <i>Aud</i> had promised. As soon as he had -published his demobilization order, he went to his home outside Dublin -and stayed there during the rising. It was there he was arrested and, -though his action so helped the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> British that the royal commission -afterward said he "broke the back of the rebellion," he was sentenced -for life, and sits to-day in Dartmoor Prison making sacks. This is the -man who was one of our greatest authorities on early Irish history.</p> - -<p>There never was a hint of suspicion that McNeill's act was other than -the result of fear. No one who knew him could doubt his loyalty to -Ireland. It was his love for the Volunteers, the love of a man -instinctively pacifist, that made him give that order. Oh, the satire of -history! By such an order, many of us believe, he delivered to the -executioner the flower of Ireland's heart and brain. We believe that if -those manœuvers had taken place at the time set, the British arsenals -in Ireland would easily have been taken and arms provided for our men. -Indeed, we would rather have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> taken arms and ammunition from the British -than have accepted them as gifts from other people.</p> - -<p>The eternal buoyancy with which Irishmen are credited came to their -rescue that Sunday morning. Mr. Connolly and others believed that if -word was sent into the country districts that the Citizen Army was -proceeding with its plans, that the Volunteers of Dublin, consisting of -four battalions under Padraic Pearse and Thomas McDonaugh, were going to -mobilize, the response would be immediate. At once word was sent out -broadcast. Norah Connolly walked eighty miles during the week through -the country about Dublin, carrying orders from headquarters. But she, -like other messengers, found that the Volunteers were so accustomed to -McNeill's signature that they were afraid to act without it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> They -feared a British trick. We Irish are so schooled in suspicion that it -sometimes counts against us. In Galway they had heard that the rising in -Dublin was on, and later put up such a fight that, had it been seconded -in other counties by even a few groups, the republic would have lived -longer than it did. It might even have won the victory in which, only -three days before, we all had faith.</p> - -<p>The Volunteers numbered men from every class and station; the Citizen -Army was made up of working-men who had the advantage of being under a -man of decision and quick judgment. At four o'clock the Citizen Army -mobilized in front of Liberty Hall to carry out the route march as -planned. After this march the men were formed into a hollow square in -front of Liberty Hall and Connolly addressed them.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p><p>"You are now under arms," he concluded. "You will not lay down your -arms until you have struck a blow for Ireland!"</p> - -<p>The men cheered, shots were fired into the air, and that night their -barracks was Liberty Hall.</p> - -<p>You might think a demonstration of this character, a speech in the open, -would attract enough attention from the police to make them send a -report to the authorities. None was sent. They had come to feel, I -suppose, that while there was so much talk there would be little action. -Nor did they remember that Easter is always the anniversary of that -fight hundreds of years ago when native Irish came to drive the -foreigner from Dublin. This year, in addition, it fell upon the date of -the Battle of Clontarf, so there was double reason for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> sentiment to -seize upon the day for a revolt.</p> - -<p>During the night, Irishmen from England and Scotland who had been -encamped at Kimmage with some others, came into Dublin and joined the -men at Liberty Hall. Next morning I saw them while they were drawn up, -waiting for orders. Every man carried a rifle and a pike! Those pikes -were admission of our loss through the sinking of the <i>Aud</i>, for the men -who carried them might have been shouldering additional rifles to give -to any recruits picked up during the course of the day. Pikes would not -appeal to an unarmed man as a fit weapon with which to meet British -soldiers in battle. We could have used every one of those twenty -thousand lost rifles, for they would have made a tremendous appeal.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p><p>I was sent on my bicycle to scout about the city and report if troops -from any of the barracks were stirring. They were not. Moreover, I -learned that their officers, for the most part, were off to the races at -Fairview in the gayest of moods.</p> - -<p>When I returned to report to Mr. Connolly, I had my first glimpse of -Padraic Pearse, provisional president of the Irish Republic. He was a -tall man, over six feet, with broad shoulders slightly stooped from long -hours as a student and writer. But he had a soldierly bearing and was -very cool and determined, I thought, for a man on whom so much -responsibility rested,—at the very moment, too, when his dream was -about to take form. Thomas McDonagh was also there. I had not seen him -before in uniform, and he, too, gave me the impression that our Irish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> -scholars must be soldiers at bottom, so well did he appear in his green -uniform. At Christmas he had given me a fine revolver. It would be one -of my proudest possessions if I had it now, but it was confiscated by -the British.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i107.jpg" id="i107.jpg"></a><img src="images/i107.jpg" alt="JAMES CONNOLLY" /></div> - -<p class="bold">JAMES CONNOLLY</p> - -<p>I was next detailed as despatch rider for the St. Stephen's Green -Command. Again I went out to scout, this time for Commandant Michael -Mallin. If I did not find the military moving, I was to remain at the -end of the Green until I should see our men coming in to take -possession. There were no soldiers in sight; only a policeman standing -at the far end of the Green doing nothing. He paid no attention to me; I -was only a girl on a bicycle. But I watched him closely. It was -impossible to believe that neither the police nor the military -authorities were on guard. But this chap stood about idly and was the -last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> policeman I saw until after the rising was over. They seemed to -vanish from the streets of Dublin. Even to-day no one can tell you where -they went.</p> - -<p>It was a great moment for me, as I stood there, when, between the -budding branches of trees, I caught sight of men in dark green uniforms -coming along in twos and threes to take up their position in and about -the Green and at the corners of streets leading into it. There were only -thirty-six altogether, whereas the original plan had been for a hundred. -That was one of the first effects of Eoin McNeill's refusal to join us. -But behind them I could see, in the spring sunlight, those legions of -Irish who made their fight against as heavy or heavier odds and who, -though they died, had left us their dream to make real. Perhaps this time—</p> - -<p>At last all the men were standing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> ready, awaiting the signal. In every -part of Dublin similar small groups were waiting for the hour to strike. -The revolution had begun!</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - -<h2>VI</h2> - -<p>To the British, I am told, there was something uncanny about the -suddenness with which the important centers of Dublin's life were -quietly seized at noon on Easter Monday by groups of calm, determined -men in green uniforms.</p> - -<p>They were not merely surprised; they were frightened. The superstitious -element in their fear was great, too. It had always been so. When -Kitchener was drowned off the Irish coast, a man I know, an Irishman, -spoke of it to an English soldier.</p> - -<p>"Yes; you and your damned rosaries!" retorted the soldier, looking -frightened even as he said it.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p><p>The British seem to feel we are in league with unearthly powers against -which they have no protection. On Easter Monday they believed that -behind this sudden decision, as it appeared to them, something dark and -sinister was lurking. How else would we dare to revolt against the -British Empire? It was as if our men were not flesh and blood, but -spirits summoned up by their own bad conscience to take vengeance for -many centuries of misrule. It must have been some such feeling that -accounted for the way they lost, at the very outset, all their usual -military calm and ruthlessness.</p> - -<p>We recognized this feeling, and it made our men stronger in spirit. We -were convinced of the justice of our cause, convinced that even dying -was a small matter compared with the privilege we now shared of fighting -for that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> cause. Besides, there was no traitor in our ranks. No one had -whispered a word of our plans to the British authorities. That is one -reason why our memory of Easter Week has in it something finer than the -memory of any other rising in the past. You must bear in mind that the -temptation to betray the rising must have been just as strong, that it -had in it just as much guarantee of security for the future, as -heretofore. Yet no one yielded to this temptation. Even more amazing was -the fact that the authorities had not paid any heed to those utterances -which for months past had been highly seditious. For instance, here is -what Padraic Pearse stated openly in one of his articles:</p> - -<blockquote><p>I am ready. For years I have waited and prayed for this day. We -have the most glorious opportunity that has ever presented itself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> -of really asserting ourselves. Such an opportunity will never come -again. We have Ireland's liberty in our hands. Or are we content to -remain as slaves and idly watch the final extermination of the -Gael?</p></blockquote> - -<p>Nothing could be more outspoken or direct. When it is remembered that -England's enemies have always been regarded as Ireland's allies; that an -English war, wherever fought, is a signal for us to rise once more, no -matter how many defeats we have suffered, it might have been supposed -the British, stationed in such numbers in and around Dublin, would not -have been put to sleep by what must have seemed, to the wary observer, -an acute attack of openness and a vigorous interest in military affairs. -There were some, of course, among the police and officials who made -their reports of "highly seditious" meetings and writings, but I suppose -the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> authorities did not believe we would strike. From America they -learned of aid to come by ship when Igel's papers were seized by United -States authorities. It may have been this information that put the -English patrol-boats on their guard in Tralee Harbor. It even may have -been thought that when that ship went down the rising was automatically -ended. So it might have been had our revolt been "made in Germany," but -it must be remembered that it was the Irish who approached the Germans. -Thus there was no anxiety in Dublin that Easter Monday except as to -which horse would win the Fairview races.</p> - -<p>As soon as our men were in position in St. Stephen's Green, I rode off -down Leeson Street toward the Grand Canal to learn if the British -soldiers were now leaving Beggar's Bush or the Portobello barracks. -Everything remained quiet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> That signified to me that our men had taken -possession of the post-office for headquarters and of all other premises -decided on in the revised plan of strategy adapted to a much smaller -army.</p> - -<p>The names of these places do not sound martial. Jacob's Biscuit Factory, -Boland's Bakery, Harcourt Street Railway Station, and Four Courts are -common enough, but each had been chosen for the strategic advantage it -would give those defending Dublin with a few men against a great number. -The Dublin & Southeastern Railway yards, for example, gave control of -the approach from Kingstown where, it was expected, the English coming -over to Ireland would land.</p> - -<p>Again I was sent out to learn if the Harcourt Street Station had been -occupied by our men. This had been done, and already telegraph wires -there, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> well as elsewhere, had been cut to isolate Dublin. Telephone -wires were cut, too, but one was overlooked. By that wire word of the -rising reached London much sooner than otherwise would have been the -case. But here again, the wonder is not that something had been -overlooked, but that so much was accomplished. By the original plan, -volunteers were told off to do this wire-cutting and the hundred and one -things necessary to a revolt taking place in a city like Dublin. When -this work was redistributed to one third the original number of men, it -was hard to be certain that those who had never <i>drilled</i> for the kind -of task assigned them could do it at all. This insurrection had been all -but rehearsed, during those months when it was being worked out on -paper, by daily and weekly drills.</p> - -<p>Upon my return, I found our men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> intrenching themselves in St. Stephen's -Green. All carried tools with which to dig themselves in, and shrubbery -was used to protect the trenches. Motorcars and drays passing the Green -were commandeered, too, to form a barricade. Much to the bewilderment of -their occupants, who had no warning that anything was amiss in Dublin, -the men in green uniforms would signal them to stop. Except in one -instance, they did so quickly enough. Then they were told to get out. An -experienced chauffeur among our men would jump in at once and drive the -car to a position where it was needed. The occupants would stand for a -moment aghast, then take to their heels. One drayman refused his cart -and persisted in his refusal, not believing it when our men told him -this was war. He was shot. Two British officers were taken <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>prisoners in -one of the autos. We could not afford men to stand guard over them, but -we took good care of them. Afterward they paid us the tribute of saying -that we obeyed all the rules of war.</p> - -<p>Commandant Mallin gave me my first despatch to carry to headquarters at -the general post-office. As I crossed O'Connell Street, I had to ride -through great crowds of people who had gathered to hear Padraic Pearse -read the proclamation of the republic at the foot of Nelson's Pillar. -They had to scatter when the Fifth Lancers—the first of the military -forces to learn that insurgents had taken possession of the -post-office—rode in among them to attack the post-office.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i121.jpg" id="i121.jpg"></a><img src="images/i121.jpg" alt="THE PROCLAMATION OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC" /></div> - -<p class="bold">THE PROCLAMATION OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC</p> - -<p class="center">(All of its signers were executed)</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<div class="box"> -<p class="bold">POBLACHT NA H EIREANN.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT<br />OF THE<br /> -IRISH REPUBLIC<br />TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND.</p> - -<p><b>IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN</b> In the name of God and of the dead generations -from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood. Ireland, -through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.</p> - -<p>Having organised and trained her manhood through her secret -revolutionary organisation, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and -through her open military organisations, the Irish Volunteers and the -Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her discipline, having -resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes -that moment, and, supported by her exiled children in America and by -gallant allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, -she strikes in full confidence of victory.</p> - -<p>We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of -Ireland, and to the unfettered control 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, nor can it -ever be extinguished except by the destruction of 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, -or its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment -of a permanent National Government, representative of the whole people -of Ireland and elected by the suffrages of all her men and women, the -Provisional Government, hereby constituted, will administer the civil -and military affairs of the Republic in trust for the people.</p> - -<p>We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the -Most High God, Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that -no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, -or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and -discipline and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves -for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which -it is called.</p> - -<p class="bold">Signed on Behalf of the Provisional Government,<br /> -THOMAS J. CLARKE,<br /> -SEAN Mac DIARMADA,<br /> -THOMAS MacDONAGH,<br /> -P. H. PEARSE,<br /> -EAMONN CEANNT,<br /> -JAMES CONNOLLY,<br /> -JOSEPH PLUNKETT.</p></div> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>Nothing can give one a better idea of how demoralized the British were -by the first news of the rising than to learn that they sent cavalry to -attack a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>fortified building. Men on horseback stood no chance against -rifle-fire from the windows of the post-office. It must be said in -extenuation, however, that it probably was because this cavalry -detachment had just convoyed some ammunition-wagons to a place not far -from O'Connell Street, and so were sent to "scatter" men who, they -supposed, could be put to flight by the mere appearance of regulars on -horseback.</p> - -<p>When I reached the open space in front of the post-office, I saw two or -three men and horses lying in the street, killed by the first volley -from the building. It was several days before these horses were taken -away, and there was something in the sight of the dumb beasts that hurt -me every time I had to pass them. It may sound harsh when I say that the -thought of British soldiers being killed in the same way did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> awaken -similar feelings. That is because for many centuries we have been -harassed by men in British uniform. They have become to us symbols of a -power that seems to delight in tyranny.</p> - -<p>Even while I was cycling toward the post-office, the crowd had -reassembled to watch the raising of the flag of the Irish Republic. As -the tricolor—green, white, and orange—appeared above the roof of the -post-office, a salute was fired. A few days later, while it was still -waving, James Connolly wrote: "For the first time in seven hundred years -the flag of a free Ireland floats triumphantly over Dublin City!"</p> - -<p>Mr. Connolly and a few of his officers came out to look at it as it -waved up there against the sky. I saw an old woman go up to him and, -bending her knee, kiss his hand. Indeed, the people loved and trusted -him.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p><p>Inside the post-office our men were busy putting things to right after -the lancers' attack. They were getting ready for prolonged resistance. -Window-panes were smashed, and barricades set up to protect men who soon -would be shooting from behind them. Provisions were brought over from -Liberty Hall, where they had long been stored against this day. But what -impressed me most was the way the men went at it, as though this was the -usual sort of thing to be doing and all in the day's work. There was no -sign of excitement, but there was a tenseness, a sense of expectancy, a -kind of exaltation, that was almost more than I could bear.</p> - -<p>I delivered my despatch, and was given another to carry back to -Commandant Mallin. Crowds were still in O'Connell Street when I left on -my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> errand. They were always there when bullets were not flying, and -always seemed in sympathy with the men in the post-office. I found this -same sympathy all over the city wherever I went. Even when men would not -take guns and join us, they were friendly.</p> - -<p>The soldiers from Portobello barracks were sent out twice on Monday to -attack our position in St. Stephen's Green. The first time was at noon, -before we were completely intrenched. They had gone only as far as -Portobello Bridge, but a few rods from the barracks, when they were -fired on from the roof of Davies's public-house just the other side of -the bridge. Our rifle-fire was uninterrupted, and a number of the -soldiers fell. They probably thought they were dealing with a -considerable force, for they did not advance until the firing ceased or -until word was brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> to the <i>three men</i> on the roof that we were -securely intrenched. Even then they did not come on to attack us, but -went somewhere else in the city.</p> - -<p>At six o'clock that evening, just when it was beginning to grow dusk, on -my way back from the post-office I noticed that the crowd of curious -civilians who had been hanging about the Green all day had quite -disappeared. The next thing I saw was two persons hurrying away from the -Green. These were Town Councilor Partridge and the countess. They came -to a halt in the street just ahead of me. Then I saw the British -soldiers coming up Harcourt Street!</p> - -<p>The countess stood motionless, waiting for them to come near. She was a -lieutenant in the Irish Volunteers and, in her officer's uniform and -black hat with great plumes, looked most <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>impressive. At length she -raised her gun to her shoulder—it was an "automatic" over a foot long, -which she had converted into a short rifle by taking out the wooden -holster and using it as a stock—and took aim. Neither she nor Partridge -noticed me as I came up behind them. I was quite close when they fired. -The shots rang out at the same moment, and I saw the two officers -leading the column drop to the street. As the countess was taking aim -again, the soldiers, without firing a shot, turned and ran in great -confusion for their barracks. The whole company fled as fast as they -could from <i>two</i> people, one of them a woman! When you consider, -however, that for years these soldiers had been going about Dublin as if -they owned it; that now they did not know from what house or street -corner they might be fired upon by men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> in green uniforms, it is not to -be wondered at that they were temporarily demoralized.</p> - -<p>As we went back to the Green, Madam told me of the attempt made that -morning by herself, Sean Connolly, and ten others to enter Dublin Castle -and plant the flag of the Irish republic on the roof of that stronghold -of British power in Ireland. There always is a considerable military -force housed in the castle, but so completely were they taken by -surprise that for a few moments it seemed as if the small group would -succeed in entering. It was only when their leader, Sean Connolly, was -shot dead that the attempt was abandoned. It seemed to me particularly -fitting that Madam had been a member of this party, for she belonged by -"right of birth" to those who always were invited to social affairs at -the castle. Yet she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> had long refused to accept these invitations, and -had taken the side of those who hoped for the ultimate withdrawal of -those Dublin Castle hosts.</p> - -<p>Immediately after this gallant attempt, which might have succeeded had -it taken place on Sunday with the number of men originally intended, -Madam returned to St. Stephen's Green and alone and single-handed took -possession of the College of Surgeons. This is a big, square, granite -building on the west side of the Green. It was, as we later discovered, -impregnable. For all impression they made, the machine-gun bullets with -which the British soldiers peppered it for five days might have been -dried peas.</p> - -<p>The countess, fortunately, had met with no resistance. She walked up the -steps, rang the bell, and, when no one answered, fired into the lock -and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> entered. The flag we flew from the roof of the building was a small -one I had brought on my bicycle from headquarters.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> - -<h2>VII</h2> - -<p>We were all happy that night as we camped in St. Stephen's Green. -Despite the handicap we were under through lack of men, almost -everything was going our way. It was a cold, damp night. The first-aid -and despatch-girls of our command went into a summer-house for shelter. -It had no walls, but there was a floor to lie upon, and a roof. I slept -at once and slept heavily.</p> - -<p>Madam was not so fortunate. She was too tired and excited to sleep. -Instead, she walked about, looking for some sheltered place and, to get -out of the wind, tried lying down in one of the trenches. But the ground -was much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> too chilly, so she walked about until she noticed the -motor-car of her friend, Dr. Katherine Lynn, seized that morning for the -barricade. She climbed in, found a rug, and went to sleep in comparative -comfort. When morning came she could not forgive herself for having -slept there all night while the rest of us remained outdoors. She had -intended to get up after an hour or two of it and make one of us take -her place. She did not waken, however, till she heard the hailing of -machine-gun bullets on the roof of the car. The girls in the -summer-house, with the exception of myself, were awakened at the same -moment in the same way, and ran for safety behind one of the -embankments. It seems the British had taken possession of a hotel at one -side of the Green—the Hotel Shelbourne—and had placed a machine-gun on -the roof. At four<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> o'clock in the morning they began firing.</p> - -<p>The chill I was having woke me, but I quickly followed the others to -their hiding-place. From the first we were aware that had we taken -possession of all buildings around the Green, according to our original -plan, this morning salute of the British would have been impossible. As -it was, our intrenchments and barricades proved of no avail. We realized -at once we should have to evacuate the Green and retire into the College -of Surgeons.</p> - -<p>Commandant Mallin sent me with a despatch to headquarters. He recognized -immediately that a regiment could not hold the Green against a -machine-gun on a tall building that could rake our position easily.</p> - -<p>As soon as I returned, I was sent away again to bring in sixteen men -guarding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> the Leeson Street bridge. If we abandoned the Green before -they could join us, they would be cut off and in great danger. As I rode -along on my bicycle, I had my first taste of the risks of -street-fighting. Soldiers on top of the Hotel Shelbourne aimed their -machine-gun directly at me. Bullets struck the wooden rim of my bicycle -wheels, puncturing it; others rattled on the metal rim or among the -spokes. I knew one might strike me at any moment, so I rode as fast as I -could. My speed saved my life, and I was soon out of range around a -corner. I was not exactly frightened nor did I feel aware of having -shown any special courage. My anxiety for the men I was to bring in -filled my mind, for though I was out of range, unless we could find a -roundabout way to the College of Surgeons seventeen of us would be under -fire.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> To make matters worse, the men were on foot.</p> - -<p>After I reached this group and gave the order for their return, I -scouted ahead up streets I knew would bring us back safely to the -college, unless already guarded by the British. It was while I was -riding ahead of them that I had fresh evidence of the friendliness of -the people. Two men presently approached me. They stepped out into the -street and said quietly:</p> - -<p>"All is safe ahead."</p> - -<p>I rode back, told the guard, and we moved on more rapidly. At another -spot a woman leaned out of her window just as I was passing. "You are -losing your revolver," she called to me.</p> - -<p>She may have saved my life by that warning, for my revolver had torn its -way through the pocket of my raincoat, and, in another moment, would -have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> fallen to the ground. Had it been discharged, the result might -have been fatal.</p> - -<p>As we came to the College of Surgeons and were going in by a side door, -the men were just retiring from the Green. Since every moment counted, I -had ridden ahead to report to Commandant Mallin, and while he stood -listening to me, a bullet whizzed through his hat. He took it off, -looked at it without comment, and put it on again. Evidently the -machine-gun was still at work.</p> - -<p>One of our boys was killed before we got inside the College of Surgeons. -Had the British gunners been better trained for their task, we might -have lost more, for we were completely at their mercy from the moment -they began to fire at dawn until the big door of the college closed, and -we took up the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>defense of our new position in the great stone fortress.</p> - -<p>Every time I left the college, I was forced to run the gauntlet of this -machine-gun. I blessed the enemy's bad marksmanship several times a day. -To be sure, they tried hard enough to hit something. Once that day I saw -them shooting at our first-aid girls, who made excellent targets in -their white dresses, with large red crosses on them. It was a miracle -that none of them was wounded. Bullets passed through one girl's skirt, -and another girl had the heel of her shoe shot off. If I myself had not -seen this happen, I could not have believed that British soldiers would -disobey the rules of war concerning the Red Cross.</p> - -<p>Mr. Connolly had issued orders that no soldier was to be shot who did -not have arms, and he did not consider the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> side-arms they always -carried as "arms." My revolver had been given me for self-defense in -case I fell into the hands of any soldiers. I confess that, though I -never used it, I often felt tempted when I saw British soldiers going -along in twos and threes, bent on shooting any of our men. I was not in -uniform, however, and had had orders not to shoot except thus clothed -and so a member of the Republican Army.</p> - -<p>Some of the streets I had to ride through were as quiet and peaceful as -if there was no thought of revolution in Dublin, but in others I could -hear now and then scattered shots from around some corner. It was more -than likely that snipers were trying to hold up a force of British on -their way to attack one of our main positions. Sometimes I would hear -the rattle of a machine-gun, and this warned me that I was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> approaching -a house where the enemy was raking a position held by our men. -Generally, however, it was the complete and death-like emptiness of a -street that warned me I was close to a scene of hot fighting. This was -not always so, for there were times when the curiosity of the crowd got -the better of its caution, and it would push dangerously near the -shooting.</p> - -<p>Several days elapsed before the people of Dublin became fully aware of -the meaning of what was going on. Riots are not rare, and this might -well seem to many of them only rioting on a large scale, with some new -and interesting features. The poor of Dublin have never been appeased -with bread or circuses by the British authorities. They have had to be -content with starvation and an occasional street disturbance. But little -by little, as I rode along, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> could detect a change in attitude. Some -became craven and disappeared; in others, it seemed that at last their -souls might come out of hiding and face the day.</p> - -<p>The spirit at the post-office was always the same—quiet, cheerful, and -energetic. I used to stand at the head of the great central staircase -waiting for answers to my despatches and could see the leaders as they -went to and fro through the corridor. Padraic Pearse impressed me by his -natural air of command. He was serious, but not troubled, not even when -he had to ask for men from the Citizen Army to eke out the scant numbers -of his Volunteers for some expedition. No one had thought it would be -that way, for the Volunteers were originally two to one compared with -the Citizen Army. Recruits were coming in every day, but at the most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -there were not fifteen hundred men against twenty thousand British -soldiers stationed in or near Dublin.</p> - -<p>Whenever there came a lull in business or fighting, the men would begin -to sing either rebel songs or those old lays dear to Irishmen the world -over. And sometimes they knelt in prayer, Protestants and Catholics side -by side. From the very beginning there was a sense of the religious -character in what we were doing. This song and prayer at the post-office -were all natural, devoid of self-consciousness. A gay song would follow -a solemn prayer, and somehow was not out of harmony with it.</p> - -<p>One source of inspiration at the post-office was "old Tom Clarke," who -had served fifteen years for taking part in the rising of sixty-seven. -His pale, worn face showed the havoc wrought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> by that long term in an -English prison, but his spirit had not been broken.</p> - -<p>There was Jo Plunkett, too, pale and weak, having come directly from the -hospital where he had just undergone an operation. But he knew what -prestige his name would lend to this movement—a name famous for seven -hundred years in Irish history. He looked like death, and he met death a -few days later at the hands of the English.</p> - -<p>I talked about explosives one day with Sean McDermott and we went -together to consult a wounded chemist in a rear room to find out what -could be done with chemicals we had found at the College of Surgeons. -Sean McDermott was like a creature from another planet who had brought -his radiance with him to this one. Every one felt this and loved him for -the courage and sweetness he put into all he did.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p><p>The O'Rahilly was another of the striking figures at the post-office. -He was known as one of the handsomest men in Ireland, and, in addition -to being head of a famous old clan, had large estates. He had given much -property to the cause, and now was risking his life for it. He was -killed on the last day of the fighting as he led a sortie into the -street at one side of the post-office. His last words were, "Good-by and -good luck to you!" He said those words to British prisoners he was -setting free because the post-office had caught fire and the game was -up. They afterward told of his kindness and care for them at a moment -when he himself was in the greatest possible danger.</p> - -<p>I can pass anywhere for a Scotch girl,—I have often had to since the -rising,—and friends will tell you I am hard-headed and practical, -without the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> least trace of mysticism. Yet, whenever I was in general -headquarters in the post-office, I felt, despite commonplace -surroundings and the din of fighting, an exalted calm that can be -possible only where men are giving themselves unreservedly and with -clear conscience to a great cause.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> - -<h2>VIII</h2> - -<p>Singing "Soldiers are we whose lives are pledged to Ireland," we had -withdrawn from St. Stephen's Green into the College of Surgeons. Only -one of our men had been killed, yet this was a retreat, and we knew it. -If only we had had enough men to take possession of the Shelbourne -Hotel, we need not have yielded the Green. As it was, we wasted no time -in mourning, but went to work at once to make ourselves ready for a -siege that might last no one knew how long.</p> - -<p>Under orders from Commandant Mallin, some of the men began to cut -through the walls into adjoining buildings. Others went up on the roof -to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> use their rifles against the British soldiers on top of the -Shelbourne. Madam went about everywhere, seeking to find anything that -could be of use to us. She discovered sixty-seven rifles, with fifteen -thousand rounds of cartridges; also bandoliers and haversacks. All this -had belonged, no doubt, to the training corps of the College of -Surgeons, and would have been used against us had we not reached the -building first.</p> - -<p>On the ground floor of the big building were lecture-rooms and a museum; -up-stairs other class-rooms, laboratories, and the library. On the third -floor were the caretaker's rooms and a kitchen where our first-aid and -despatch-girls took possession and cooked for the others as long as -anything remained to cook. Lastly came the garret up under the roof. To -shoot from the roof itself quickly became impossible, since our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> men -were easy targets for the gunners on the Shelbourne. As soon as one of -our boys was wounded, we knew they had our range, and decided to cut -holes through and directly under the sloping roof. Here we could shoot -in perfect safety while remaining unseen.</p> - -<p>On Wednesday there was little despatch-bearing to do, so I stood around -watching the men up there at work. The countess realized my impatience -to be doing my bit, also my hesitation at putting myself forward to ask -for permission. Without saying anything to me, she went to Commandant -Mallin and told him she thought I could be of use under the roof. He -gave his permission at once, and she brought me the answer.</p> - -<p>Madam had had a fine uniform of green moleskin made for me. With her -usual generosity, she had mine made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> of better material than her own. It -consisted of kneebreeches, belted coat, and puttees. I slipped into this -uniform, climbed up astride the rafters, and was assigned a loophole -through which to shoot. It was dark there, full of smoke and the din of -firing, but it was good to be in action. I could look across the tops of -trees and see the British soldiers on the roof of the Shelbourne. I -could also hear their shot hailing against the roof and wall of our -fortress, for in truth this building was just that. More than once I saw -the man I aimed at fall.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i149a.jpg" id="i149a.jpg"></a><img src="images/i149a.jpg" alt="BELT BUCKLE" /></div> - -<p class="bold">BELT BUCKLE</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i149b.jpg" id="i149b.jpg"></a><img src="images/i149b.jpg" alt="STAMPS ISSUED BY THE IRISH REPUBLIC" /></div> - -<p class="bold">STAMPS ISSUED BY THE IRISH REPUBLIC</p> - -<p>To those who have been following the Great War, reading of thousands and -hundreds of thousands attacking one another in open battle or in -mile-long trench-warfare, this exchange of shots between two buildings -across a Dublin green may seem petty. But to us there could be nothing -greater. Every shot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> we fired was a declaration to the world that -Ireland, a small country but large in our hearts, was demanding her -independence. We knew that all over Dublin, perhaps by this time all -over Ireland, other groups like ours were filled with the same -intensity, the same determination, to make the Irish Republic, no matter -how short-lived, a reality of which history would have to take account. -Besides, the longer we could keep our tricolor flying over the College -of Surgeons, the greater the chance that Irish courage would respond and -we should gain recruits.</p> - -<p>Whenever I was called down to carry a despatch, I took off my uniform, -put on my gray dress and hat, and went out the side door of the college -with my message. As soon as I returned, I slipped back into my uniform -and joined the firing-squad.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p><p>There were a good many of the Fianna boys in the college with us. As -usual, their allegiance to Madam would not let them leave her. One of -them, Tommie Keenan of Camden Row, was only twelve years old, but was -invaluable. He would go out for food and medicine and, because he was so -little, never attracted attention, though he wore his green Fianna shirt -under his jacket. On Tuesday he came to the conclusion, perhaps with -Madam's aid, that he ought to go home and tell his parents what he was -doing. Commandant Mallin advised him, just before he left, to take off -his green shirt and not wear it again for a while. It was a day or more -before he returned, because his father had locked him in his room. We -sympathized with the father, for that was just what we had expected him -to do. But when a friend came along who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> promised to keep guard over -Tommy if he was allowed to go for a walk, the boy's chance came. Eluding -this friend, he ran the most roundabout way until he arrived where he -felt "duty" called him.</p> - -<p>The boy already referred to as nearly blind was with us, too. He pleaded -so hard to be allowed to use a rifle that the men finally put him at a -loophole, where he breathlessly fired shot after shot in the direction -of the hotel. Maybe the prayers he murmured gave him success.</p> - -<p>Our rations were short, but I do not remember that any one complained. I -for one had no appetite for more than a slice of bread or two a day, -with a cup of bouillon made from the cubes laid in as part of our -necessary ration. The two captured British officers had their meals -regularly whether any one else<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> ate or not, and seemed grateful for it.</p> - -<p>Every evening fighting would quiet down, and the boys and men—about a -hundred, now, through recruits who had joined us—would gather in the -largest lecture-hall to sing under the leadership of Jo Connolly, whose -brother Sean had fallen the first day in front of Dublin Castle. I can -hear them even now:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Armed for the battle,</div> -<div>Kneel we before Thee,</div> -<div>Bless Thou our banners,</div> -<div>God of the brave!</div> -<div>'Ireland is living'—</div> -<div>Shout we triumphant,</div> -<div>'Ireland is waking—</div> -<div>Hands grasp the sword!'"</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>They were singing this chant, written by the countess and set to some -Polish revolutionary air, on Wednesday evening. I was up-stairs, -studying a map of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> our surroundings and trying to find a way by which we -could dislodge the soldiers from the roof of the Hotel Shelbourne. When -Commandant Mallin came in, I asked him if he would let me go out with -one man and try to throw a bomb attached to an eight-second fuse through -the hotel window. I knew there was a bow-window on the side farthest -from us, which was not likely to be guarded. We could use our bicycles -and get away before the bomb exploded,—that is, if we were quick -enough. At any rate, it was worth trying, whatever the risk.</p> - -<p>Commandant Mallin agreed the plan was a good one, but much too -dangerous. I pointed out to him that it had been my speed which had -saved me so far from machine-gun fire on the hotel roof. It was not that -the British were doing us any real harm in the college,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> but it was high -time to take the aggressive, for success would hearten the men in other -"forts" who were not having as safe a time of it. He finally agreed, -though not at all willingly, for he did not want to let a woman run this -sort of risk. My answer to that argument was that we had the same right -to risk our lives as the men; that in the constitution of the Irish -Republic, women were on an equality with men. For the first time in -history, indeed, a constitution had been written that incorporated the -principle of equal suffrage. But the Commandant told me there was -another task to be accomplished before the hotel could be bombed. That -was to cut off the retreat of a British force which had planted a -machine-gun on the flat roof of University Church. It was against our -rules to use any church, Protestant or Catholic, in our defense, no -matter what <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>advantage that might give us. But this church, close at -hand, had been occupied by the British and was cutting us off from -another command with whom it was necessary to keep in communication. In -order to cut off the retreat of these soldiers, it would be necessary to -burn two buildings. I asked the Commandant to let me help in this -undertaking. He consented, and gave me four men to help fire one -building, while another party went out to fire the other. It meant a -great deal to me that he should trust me with this piece of work, and I -felt elated. While I changed once more into my uniform, for the work of -war can only be done by those who wear its dress, I could still hear -them singing:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Who fights for Ireland,</div> -<div>God guide his blows home!</div> -<div>Who dies for Ireland,</div> -<div>God give him peace!</div> -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p><div>Knowing our cause just,</div> -<div>March we victorious,</div> -<div>Giving our hearts' blood</div> -<div>Ireland to free!"</div> -</div></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p> - -<h2>IX</h2> - -<p>It took only a few moments to reach the building we were to set afire. -Councilor Partridge smashed the glass door in the front of a shop that -occupied the ground floor. He did it with the butt of his rifle and a -flash followed. It had been discharged! I rushed past him into the -doorway of the shop, calling to the others to come on. Behind me came -the sound of a volley, and I fell. It was as I had on the instant -divined. That flash had revealed us to the enemy.</p> - -<p>"It's all over," I muttered, as I felt myself falling. But a moment -later, when I knew I was not dead, I was sure I should pull through. -Before another volley could be fired, Mr. Partridge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> lifted and carried -me into the street. There on the sidewalk lay a dark figure in a pool of -blood. It was Fred Ryan, a mere lad of seventeen, who had wanted to come -with us as one of the party of four.</p> - -<p>"We must take him along," I said.</p> - -<p>But it was no use; he was dead.</p> - -<p>With help, I managed to walk to the corner. Then the other man who had -stopped behind to set the building afire caught up with us. Between them -they succeeded in carrying me back to the College of Surgeons.</p> - -<p>As we came into the vestibule, Jo Connolly was waiting with his bicycle, -ready to go out with me to bomb the hotel. His surprise at seeing me -hurt was as if I had been out for a stroll upon peaceful streets and met -with an accident.</p> - -<p>They laid me on a large table and cut away the coat of my fine, new -uniform.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> I cried over that. Then they found I had been shot in three -places, my right side under the arm, my right arm, and in the back on my -right side. Had I not turned as I went through that shop-door to call to -the others, I would have got all three bullets in my back and lungs and -surely been done for.</p> - -<p>They had to probe several times to get the bullets, and all the while -Madam held my hand. But the probing did not hurt as much as she expected -it would. My disappointment at not being able to bomb the Hotel -Shelbourne was what made me unhappy. They wanted to send me to the -hospital across the Green, but I absolutely refused to go. So the men -brought in a cot, and the first-aid girls bandaged me, as there was no -getting a doctor that night. What really did distress me was my cough -and the pain in my chest. When I tried to keep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> from coughing, I made a -queer noise in my throat and noticed every one around me look -frightened.</p> - -<p>"It's no death-rattle," I explained, and they all had to laugh,—that -is, all laughed except Commandant Mallin. He said he could not forgive -himself as long as he lived for having let me go out on that errand. But -he did not live long, poor fellow! I tried to cheer him by pointing out -that he had in reality saved my life, since the bombing plan was much -more dangerous.</p> - -<p>Soon after I was brought in, the countess and Councilor Partridge -disappeared. When she returned to me, she said very quietly:</p> - -<p>"You are avenged, my dear."</p> - -<p>It seems they had gone out to where Fred Ryan lay, and Partridge, to -attract the fire of the soldiers across the street in the Sinn Fein -Bank, had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> stooped over the dead boy to lift him. There were only two -soldiers and they both fired. That gave Madam a chance to sight them. -She fired twice and killed both.</p> - -<p>They tell me that all next day I was delirious and lay moaning and -talking incoherently. It was not the bullets that brought me to this -pass, but pneumonia. Even so I am glad I was there and not at a -hospital. Later a doctor who was summoned made the mistake of using too -much corrosive sublimate on my wounds, and for once I knew what torture -is. The mistake took all the skin off my side and back. But Madam is a -natural nurse. Among her friends she was noted for her desire to care -for them if they fell ill. Some one was almost always in bed at Surrey -House; some friend whose eyes might be troubling her to whom the -countess would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> read aloud or apply soothing applications; a Fianna boy, -or an actress from the Abbey Theater who needed to build up her nerves. -Thus I was in good hands, and besides, following my instinct, I ate -nothing for the next three days, but drank quantities of water.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i165.jpg" id="i165.jpg"></a><img src="images/i165.jpg" alt="PEARSE'S LAST PROCLAMATION" /></div> - -<p class="bold">PEARSE'S LAST PROCLAMATION</p> - -<p class="center">Written under shell and shrapnel fire. (His marvelous<br />handwriting is due -to his mastery of the Gaelic script.)</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<div class="box"> -<p class="bold">Headquarters, Army of the Irish Republic,<br /> -General Post Office<br /><br />Dublin.<br /><br /> -28<sup><i>th</i></sup> April, 1916. 9·30, a.m.</p> - -<p>The Forces of the Irish Republic, which was proclaimed in Dublin on -Easter Monday, 24<sup><i>th</i></sup> April, have been in -possession of the central part of the Capital since 12 noon on that day. -Up to yesterday afternoon, Headquarters was in touch with all the main -outlying positions, and despite furious and almost continuous assaults -by the British Forces all those positions were then still being held, -and the Commandants in charge were confident of their ability to hold -them for a long time.</p> - -<p>During the course of yesterday afternoon, and evening, the enemy -succeeded in cutting our communications with our other positions in the -city, and Headquarters is to-day isolated.</p> - -<p>The enemy has burnt down whole blocks of houses, apparently with the -object of giving themselves a clear field for the play of Artillery and -field guns against us. We have been bombarded during the evening and -night by shrapnel and machine gun fire, but without material damage to -our position, which is of great strength.</p> - -<p>We are busy completing arrangements for the final defence of -Headquarters, and are determined to hold it while the buildings last.</p> - -<p>I desire now, lest I may not have an opportunity later, to pay homage to -the gallantry of the Soldiers of Irish Freedom who have during the past -four days been writing with fire and steel, the most glorious chapter in -the later history of Ireland. Justice can never be done to their -heroism, to their discipline, to their gay and unconquerable spirit, in -the midst of peril and death.</p> - -<p>Let me, who have led them into this, speak in my own, and in my -fellow-commanders' names, and in the name of Ireland present and to -come, their praise, and ask those who come after them to remember them.</p> - -<p>For four days they have fought and toiled, almost without cessation, -almost without sleep, and in the intervals of fighting, they have sung -songs of the freedom of Ireland. No man has complained, no man has asked -"why?". Each individual has spent himself, happy to pour out his -strength for Ireland and for freedom. If they do not win this fight, -they will at least have deserved to win it. But win it they will, -although they may win it in death. Already they have won a great thing. -They have redeemed Dublin from many shames, and made her name splendid -among the names of Cities.</p> - -<p>If I were to mention names of individuals, my list would be a long one.</p> - -<p>I will name only that of Commandant General James Connolly, Commanding -the Dublin division. He lies wounded, but is still the guiding brain of -our resistance.</p> - -<p>If we accomplish no more than we have accomplished, I am satisfied. I am -satisfied that we have saved Ireland's honour. I am satisfied that we -should have accomplished more, that we should have accomplished the task -of enthroning, as well as proclaiming, the Irish Republic as a Sovereign -State, had our arrangements for a simultaneous rising of the whole -country, with a combined plan as sound as the Dublin plan has been -proved to be, been allowed to go through on Easter Sunday. Of the fatal -countermanding order which prevented those plans from being carried out, -I shall not speak further. Both Eoin MacNeill and we have acted in the -best interests of Ireland.</p> - -<p>For my part, as to anything I have done in this, I am not afraid to face -either the judgement of God, or the judgement of posterity.</p> - -<p class="center">(Signed) P. H. Pearse, Commandant General.<br /> -Commanding-in-chief the Army of the Irish Republic and<br /> -President of the Provisional Government.</p></div> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>Once a day they allowed me visitors. Every one who came to my room was -confident that things were going well. That we were isolated from other -"forts" and even from headquarters did not necessarily mean they were -losing ground. We were holding out, and our spirits rose high. We -believed, too, that by this time the Volunteers outside Dublin had -risen. We could not know that, even where they had joined the rising on -Easter Monday, the loss of one day had given the British enough time to -be on guard, so that in no instance could our men enter the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>barracks -and seize arms as originally planned.</p> - -<p>While I lay there, I could hear the booming of big guns. All of us -believed it was the Germans attacking the British on the water. There -had been a rumor that German submarines would come into the fight if -they learned there was a chance of our winning it. I had heard that -report the evening before the rising. Edmond Kent, one of the republican -leaders, had been most confident of our success, and when a friend asked -him, "What if the British bring up their big guns?" he replied:</p> - -<p>"The moment they bring up their big guns, we win."</p> - -<p>He did not explain what he meant by this, but I took it that he expected -outside aid the minute the British, recognizing our revolt as serious, -gave us the dignity of combatants by using<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> heavy artillery against us. -Whatever he meant, the fact remains that when they took this action, -they made us a "belligerent" in the world's eyes and gave us the excuse -we could so well use—an appeal to the world court as a "small nation," -for a place at the coming peace conference.</p> - -<p>Sunday morning one of the despatch-girls, white and scared because she -had been escorted to our "fort" by British soldiers, came from -headquarters to inform Commandant Mallin that a general surrender had -been decided on. The Commandant and Madam were in my room at the time, -and Madam instantly grew pale.</p> - -<p>"Surrender?" she cried. "We'll never surrender!"</p> - -<p>Then she begged the Commandant, who could make the decision for our -division, not to think of giving in. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> would be better, she said, for -all of us to be killed at our posts. I felt as she did about it, but the -girl who had brought the despatch became more and more excited, saying -that the soldiers outside had threatened to "blow her little head off" -if she did not come out soon with the word they wanted. Possibly they -suspected any Irish girl would be more likely to urge resistance than -surrender.</p> - -<p>Commandant Mallin, to quiet us, I suppose, said he would not surrender -unless forced to do so. But he must have decided to give in at once, for -in less than an hour an ambulance came to take me to St. Vincent's -Hospital, just across the Green.</p> - -<p>As they carried me down-stairs, our boys came out to shake my hand. I -urged them again and again to hold out. As I said good-by to Commandant -Mallin, I had a feeling I should never see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> him again. Not that it -entered my head for a moment that he would be executed by the British. -Despite all our wrongs and their injustices, I did not dream of their -killing prisoners of war.</p> - -<p>I felt no such dread concerning the countess, though our last words -together were about her will. I had witnessed it, and she had slipped it -in the lining of my coat. I was to get it to her family at the earliest -possible moment. It was fortunate that I did.</p> - -<p>My departure was the first move in the surrender. That afternoon all the -revolutionists gave up their arms to the British in St. Patrick's Square.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> - -<h2>X</h2> - -<p>Those first two weeks in St. Vincent's Hospital were the blackest of my -life. In that small, white room I was, at first, as much cut off as -though in my grave. I had fever, and the doctors and nurses were more -worried over my pneumonia than over my wounds, though every time they -dressed them I suffered from the original treatment with corrosive -sublimate. My greatest anxiety, however, was because I could get no word -to my mother in Glasgow. I knew she would think I had been killed.</p> - -<p>That was just what happened. The first word she had received since the -day I left home was that I was dead; that I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> had been shot in the spine, -and left lying on the Dublin pavement for two days. The next rumor that -reached her was that I was not dead, but paralyzed. The third report was -that the British had sentenced me to fifteen years' imprisonment. Had I -not been wounded, the last would probably have been true.</p> - -<p>After two weeks I wrote a letter, and the doctor had it forwarded home -for me. It had not been easy work writing it, for my right arm was the -one that had been wounded. I knew, though, that unless she had word in -my own handwriting, my mother might not believe what she read.</p> - -<p>Presently news began to drift in to me of trials and executions. I could -not get it through my head. Why were these men not treated as prisoners -of war? We had obeyed all rules of war and surrendered as formally as -any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> army ever capitulated. All my reports were of death; nothing but -death!</p> - -<p>At dawn on May 3, the British shot Padraic Pearse, Thomas McDonagh, and -old Tom Clarke.</p> - -<p>The following day they shot Joseph Plunkett, the brother of Padraic -Pearse, and two other leaders, Daly and O'Hanrahan.</p> - -<p>The third day John McBride, a man known the world over for his stand in -the Boer War, was shot to death. He was the only one killed that day, -and we wondered why. What was this British reasoning that determined who -should go in company with his fellows and who should go alone?</p> - -<p>At length came the turn of the Countess Markievicz. Because she was a -woman, they commuted her death-sentence to penal servitude for life. I -was very glad; but I knew that, since she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> had fought as one of them, -she would rather have died with them. Penal servitude! Those words rang -like a knell for one who was all energy, who needed people around her, -who wanted to serve.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i175.jpg" id="i175.jpg"></a><img src="images/i175.jpg" alt="THE ORDER THAT MADE THE SURRENDER OF THE COLLEGE OF SURGEONS INEVITABLE" /></div> - -<p class="bold">THE ORDER THAT MADE THE SURRENDER<br />OF THE COLLEGE OF SURGEONS INEVITABLE</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<div class="box"> -<p>In order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in the -hope of saving the lives of our followers now surrounded and hopelessly -outnumbered, the members of the Provisional Government present at -Head-Quarters have agreed to an unconditional surrender, and the -Commandants of the various districts in the City and Country will order -their commands to lay down arms.</p> - -<p class="right">P. H. Pearse<br />29<sup><i>th</i></sup> April 1916<br />3.45 p. m.</p> - -<p>I agree to these conditions for the men only under my own command in the -Moore Street District and for the men in the Stephen's Green Command.</p> - -<p class="right">James Connolly<br />April 29/16</p> - -<p>On consultation with Commandant Connolly and their officers I have -decided to agree to unconditional surrender also.</p> - -<p class="right">Thomas MacDonagh.</p></div> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>The British did not shoot any one on Sunday. They let us meditate on all -that the past week had done to our leaders. There is no torture so -excruciating as suspense. It is the suspense which Ireland has had to -endure for generations that has weakened her more than any battles. How -we have waited and waited! It has always been hard for us to believe we -were not to realize our hopes. Even in these latter years during which -Home Rule has loomed large before us, we have not suspected that, in the -end, it would become only a parliamentary trick and a delusion. If any -one had told me the Sunday before that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> all these men were to be shot, I -should not have believed them. Our bitter belief has been forced upon -us.</p> - -<p>On Monday the British began it again. This time it was Michael Mallin -they stood against a wall and shot. I remembered how, when I was so ill -at the College of Surgeons, he had been gentle with me. He always had -tried to ease the discomforts of his men. You would never have guessed -by looking at him, he was so quiet and restrained, that he had been -waiting twenty years for the day which would make him a commandant over -Irish soldiers. He told me that, as a boy of fourteen, he had enlisted -in the British army to get experience with which to fight Great Britain. -When he was stationed in India, he said, he had lain awake night after -night, planning how some day he could put his military<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> knowledge at -Ireland's service. Six days he served Ireland; eight days he lay in -prison; now he was dead!</p> - -<p>Later his widow came to see me. She brought me the note-book he used -when writing the despatches I carried. She brought me, besides, some -small bits of Irish poplin he had woven himself. She did not break down; -she seemed exalted. It was the same with all the wives of those shot, -and with the mother of Padraic and William Pearse. You would have -thought they had been greatly honored, that their dignity was equal to -bearing it.</p> - -<p>Yet they all had terrible stories of cruelty to tell me. Kilmainham -Prison was a grim waiting-room for death. In addition, the court-martial -never lasted long enough for any one to feel he had been fairly tried -and judged. I heard all the prison sentences, over a hundred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> that first -week! Most of them were for long terms, and five for life. Councilor -Partridge was given a fifteen-year sentence that afterward was commuted -to ten.</p> - -<p>It is not the same thing to read of executions and sentences in the -press and to hear of them from the lips of friends,—the wives, mothers, -and daughters of the men executed or sentenced for life. To feel we had -failed in our purpose was enough to make us brood; but to know that -never again would these men sing rebel songs together or tell of their -hopes—</p> - -<p>At length Norah Connolly and her sister came to see me. They told me of -their father's last hours; how, because of his wound that already had -brought him close to death, he had to be strapped into a chair to face -the firing-squad. I thought of gentle Mrs. Connolly saying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> good-by to -her husband, knowing all the while what was about to take place!</p> - -<p>Some of the first-aid girls who had been in prison for fifteen days came -to visit me, too. We compared notes. I learned then how Chris Caffrey -had been stripped and searched by British soldiers to her shame, for she -was a modest girl. But she had eaten her despatch before they dragged -her off the street where she had been bicycling. I heard, too, how Chris -had been almost prevented from reaching headquarters by a crowd of poor -women gathered about the post-office for their usual weekly "separation -allowance." Their husbands were all fighting in France or Flanders for -the British. They would not get their allowance this week, and were -terror-stricken, crowding about the post-office and crying and shouting -hysterically. Chris, as we called <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>Christine, had to fire her revolver -at the ground before they would make way for her.</p> - -<p>Next followed the story of Francis Sheehy Skeffington, one of the few -men in Dublin we could go to for advice about the law when we had any -plan to carry out. He had been shot without a trial, they said; without -even knowing, when called out into the little courtyard, that he was -about to be killed. And he had had <i>nothing to do with the rising</i>! He -always had been against the use of force. When he was arrested, after a -day spent in trying to get a committee of safety together because the -police had disappeared, his wife did not even know where he was. She had -no word of his death until a day after he was buried in quicklime, the -burial of a criminal!</p> - -<p>Ah, how the stories of Belgian atrocities which we had heard from the -lips<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> of the Archbishop of Michlin when the Great War broke out, paled -beside this one fortnight in Dublin! We did not know when it would end -or how. There ensued a reign of terror in all Irish homes, whether the -men or women had had anything to do with the rising or not. For both -soldiers and police were now given power to arrest any one they pleased. -Several hundred men were put in prison under no charge, nor were any -charges ever preferred in many cases.</p> - -<p>The women, too! Helen Maloney and Dr. Katherine Lynn, whose motor Madam -had used that night in St. Stephen's Green and whose bicycle I had been -riding, were both arrested Easter Monday and taken to Dublin Castle. -Miss Maloney was discovered a few hours later with the lock half off her -door, her fingers bleeding pitifully from attempts to get out. Next they -were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> taken to Kilmainham jail, where for fifteen days those two women, -with eighty others, were kept in a room completely lacking any sanitary -arrangements. We used to shudder at stories of such deeds, which we then -believed could happen only in Siberia. Dr. Lynn is famous for her -surgical skill. She is one of the Irish doctors to whom the British send -their worst war cripples for treatment, and is far more successful than -they in treating such cases. Many visitors to Dublin have seen Miss -Maloney on the stage of the Abbey Theater and recognized her talent. Dr. -Lynn was deported to Bath; Miss Maloney was sent to the Aylesbury -Prison, and kept there a year. Never once during that time was any -charge preferred against her.</p> - -<p>Little Tommy Keenan of Camden Row had, so he thought, the good <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>fortune -to be put in prison with sixty of the Fianna when our men surrendered -the College of Surgeons. But, much to their chagrin, at the end of two -weeks the boys were released. Did they scurry away to grow up into -better British subjects? Not at all! Tommy lined them up in front of the -jail and led them off down the street singing "The Watch on the Rhine" -at the top of their lungs.</p> - -<p>There was no end to the stories I heard as I lay there in the hospital. -Stories of heroism and stories of disaster followed one another, each -strengthening my belief that the courage and honor of the heroic days of -Ireland were still alive in our hearts. Perhaps it is for this we should -love our enemies: when they cleave with their swords the heart of a -brave man, they lay bare the truth of life.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - -<h2>XI</h2> - -<p>There came a day when I could no longer endure lying alone in my room, -thinking of all that had happened for this reason or that. The nurses -had been very kind to me. Some of them were in sympathy with the Sinn -Fein movement, while all of them felt the horror of the executions. -There were times when I could rise above this horror and cheer them, -too, by singing a rebel song. I had interested them, besides, in -suffrage work we had been doing in Glasgow, where for several years -eleven hundred militants had done picketing and the like.</p> - -<p>Finally, however, I persuaded them to let me move into the public ward, -where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> I could see other women patients and talk a little. There were -about twenty women and girls in the ward. Nine of them, who had nothing -to do with the rising, had been wounded by British soldiers. The nurses -insisted this was accidental. But the women themselves would not agree -to that explanation, nor did I, for I recalled the Red Cross girls being -shot at,—a thing I had seen with my own eyes. I told the nurses I had -seen the British firing at our ambulances in the belief, no doubt, that -we were doing what we had caught them at—transporting troops from one -part of Dublin to another in ambulances. Sometimes I felt sorry to have -to make those nurses see facts as they were, instead of helping them -keep what few illusions still remained about their men in khaki. But I -was glad when I could tell them what I had just heard of De Vallera's -daring.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> With a handful of men, he had prevented two thousand of the -famous Sherwood Foresters coming through lower Mount Street to attack -one of our positions. Or, again, it did me good to relate the story of -the seventeen-year-old lad who single-handed had captured a British -general. The sequel to that tale, however, was not very cheerful, for -the same general had sat at the court-martial, and gave the boy who -before had had power of life and death over him, a ten year sentence.</p> - -<p>There were three women in the ward who had all been struck by the same -bullet: a mother, her daughter, and a cousin. They had been friendly to -the British soldiers, had fed them because, as the mother told me, her -husband and son were in the trenches fighting for Great Britain. These -three women had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> been at their window, looking with curiosity into the -street, when the very soldier they had just fed turned suddenly and shot -them. One had her jawbone broken, the second her arm pierced, and the -third was struck in the breast. They were all serious wounds which kept -them in bed. While I was still in the ward, the two men of this family -came back from Flanders on leave, only to find no one at home. The -neighbors directed them to the hospital. I hate to think how those men -looked when they learned why their women wore bandages. They told me -that during Easter Week the Germans put up opposite the trenches of the -Irish Brigade a placard that read:</p> - -<blockquote><p><i>"The military are shooting down your wives and children in -Dublin.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p><p>But the Irish soldiers had not believed it.</p> - -<p>I asked them if it was true, as alleged, that in answer to the placard, -the Irish Brigade had sung "Rule, Britannia." They were indignant at the -idea. They might be wearing khaki, they said, but they never yet had -sung "Rule, Britannia." When the day came for them to return to the -front, the father wanted to desert, dangerous as that would be, while -the son was eager to go back to the trenches.</p> - -<p>"This time," he said to me, "we'll not be killing Germans!"</p> - -<p>When rumors came later of a mutiny in the Irish regiment, I wondered to -myself if these two men were at the bottom of it.</p> - -<p class="space-above">Stories of atrocities poured into our ears when the Germans invaded -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>Belgium. Now we had to hear them from our own people, and now we had to -believe them. They were stories as cruel as any heard since the days of -the Island Magee massacre.</p> - -<p>In the House of Commons shortly after the rising, the cabinet was -questioned if it were true that the body of a boy in the uniform of the -Irish Volunteers had been unearthed in the grounds of Trinity College, -with the marks of twenty bayonet wounds upon him.</p> - -<p>"No," was the response, "there were not twenty; there were only -nineteen"!</p> - -<p>The body in question was that of Gerald Keogh, one of a family -passionately devoted to the cause of Irish freedom. He had been sent to -Kimmage to bring back fifty men. He went scouting ahead of them, just as -I had done when I brought in the men from the Leeson Street bridge. As -he was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>passing Trinity College, held by the British, he was shot down -and swiftly captured. It is generally understood he was asked for -information, and that, upon his refusing to answer, the soldiers tried -to force it from him by prodding him with their bayonets. I might add -that the fifty men with him were not attacked as they went by.</p> - -<p>This boy's brother was also captured by British soldiers, who decided to -hang him then and there. He begged them to shoot him, but they fastened -a noose around his neck and led him to a lamp-post. Fortunately an -officer came along at that moment and rescued him. Even children were -not safe from being terrorized by the soldiers, as Mr. Dillon later -brought out in the House of Commons.</p> - -<p>There also were murders in North King Street. Fourteen men who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> -nothing to do with the rising, were killed in their homes by British -soldiers who buried them in their cellars, while others looted the -houses. The house in Leinster Road was pillaged, and the soldiers had -the effrontery to sell the books, fine furniture, and paintings on the -street in front of the dwelling.</p> - -<p>I had been in the hospital now about five weeks, and had been told I -might go in a few days to visit friends in the city if I would promise -to return every day to have my wounds dressed. Then one morning I was -informed there was a "G-man," as we call government detectives, waiting -down-stairs to see me. He had been coming every day to the hospital, it -seems, to learn if I was yet strong enough to go to jail. Evidently he -had decided that I was, for he told me I must accompany him to Bridewell -Prison.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p><p>When I went up to the ward to say good-by and get my things, I found -the nurses terribly upset. You see, it brought the Irish question right -home to that hospital. They went to him in a body and tried to beg me -off, but he insisted on his rights, and away I went despite tears and -protestations.</p> - -<p>This was the first time I had been out, so naturally I felt queer and -weak. Nor was I pleased with my companion. He had a fat, self-satisfied -face; in fact, was not at all the handsome, keen-looking detective you -see on the cover of a dime novel. Besides, he was <i>too</i> polite. He -thought, I suppose, that this would be the best way to get me to answer -the hundred and one questions he began to ask me. I told him I might -answer questions about myself, but I certainly should not answer any -concerning the countess or my other friends.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p><p>This response kept him quiet for a block or two. Then he turned -suddenly and asked me about two girls from Glasgow who had come to -Ireland at the same time that I did. I just walked along as though I had -not heard a word, and so we proceeded in silence the rest of the way.</p> - -<p>When we entered the vestibule of the prison, an old official immediately -began to catechize me. I refused to answer a single one of his -questions, not even as to my name. Instead I pointed to the "G-man."</p> - -<p>"Ask him," I said. "He knows all about me, and can tell you if he wants -to."</p> - -<p>The detective's face grew red, but he did answer the old man's -questions. It was very interesting to me to find that he knew who my -parents were; that I had been born twelve miles from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>Glasgow; that I -had gone to different schools which he named, and that I had attended -the training college for teachers. He told just where I had been -teaching, and how well known I was as a militant suffragette. But what -he did <i>not</i> say was even more interesting. He never declared that I had -been a combatant in the rising. I wondered inwardly if he thought I had -been only a despatch-rider or a first-aid girl. I was exceedingly glad I -had let him answer for me as, taking it for granted they knew all about -me, I might have given myself away.</p> - -<p>The old man finally called the matron and told her to treat me well, as -I was not a "drunk or disorderly" person, to which class this prison is -given over, but a military prisoner. Indeed she did treat me well. Since -there was nothing on which to sit down, she kindly opened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> a cell and -let me sit on the wooden plank they call a bed, and stare at the wooden -head-board. I did not look forward much to such accommodations, with my -wounds still painful. She talked to me, too, very sympathetically. -Sometimes it was hard for us to hear each other, as there were many -drunken men singing and cursing. Being drunk, they were able to forget -that Ireland was under martial law, and cursed the British loudly or -sang disrespectful songs.</p> - -<p>The detective had gone out, and those in the jail seemed waiting to hear -from him before they picked out my permanent cell. After about two -hours, he came back. From where I sat, I could see him bend over the old -man and whisper to him. Then he walked over to me.</p> - -<p>"Come," he said, "we'll go now."</p> - -<p>"Go where?" I asked.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p><p>"To the hospital," he replied, "or anywhere else you wish. You are -free."</p> - -<p>The matron was as pleased as if she were a friend of mine. I was too -amazed to know what to think. I told the detective, however, that as I -did not know this part of Dublin, I could not find my way back to the -hospital without his company. Off we went again, and he paid my carfare, -for which I thanked him.</p> - -<p>In the sky overhead were aëroplanes that the British kept hovering over -Dublin to impress the people.</p> - -<p>"Are those the little things with which you fight the Zeppelins?" I -asked my detective.</p> - -<p>This remark hurt his feelings. He was not British, he informed me, but a -good Redmondite. How embarrassed he was when I asked him if he liked -arresting Irish who had shown their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> love of Ireland by being willing to -die for her and, what sometimes seemed worse to me, going into an -English prison for life. After that we did not talk any more until he -said good-by to me at the hospital door.</p> - -<p>The nurses were not as surprised to see me back as I had expected them -to be. They had known I was returning, for it was the head doctor who -had telephoned the authorities at Dublin Castle to tell them, with a -good deal of heat, that I was in no condition to begin a prison -sentence. That must have been what the "G-man" had whispered to the old -official at Bridewell Prison.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> - -<h2>XII</h2> - -<p>After two weeks more, I left the hospital and went to stay with a friend -in Dublin. It seemed very strange to me not to be going back to Surrey -House. How everything had changed! As soon as I was strong enough, I -went around to see where the fighting had destroyed whole streets. -Dublin was scarred and, it seemed to me, very sick. I recalled -momentarily that a teacher of mine had once said the name Dublin meant -"the Black Pool."</p> - -<p>The building where I had first met Thomas McDonagh, the Volunteer -headquarters, had a "to let" sign in its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> windows. Who would want to -engage in business in a place where such high hopes had been blasted?</p> - -<p>Liberty Hall was a shell, empty of everything but memories.</p> - -<p>Around the post-office, all other buildings had been leveled, but the -great building stood there like a monument to Easter Week.</p> - -<p>The windows stared vacantly from the house on Leinster Road. Everything -had been taken from it. The looters must have had a merry time. Hundreds -of houses had been thus sacked, for the British soldiers had lived up to -that Tommy whose words make Kipling's famous song:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>The sweatin' Tommies wonder as they spade the beggars under,</div> -<div>Why lootin' should be entered as a crime;</div> -<div>So if my song you'll hear, I will learn you plain and clear</div> -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p><div>'Ow to pay yourself for fightin' overtime;</div> -<div class="i6">With the loot!</div> -<div class="i6">Bloomin' loot!</div> -<div>That's the thing to make the boys git up and shoot!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i2">It's the same with dogs and men,</div> -<div class="i2">If you'd make 'em come again</div> -<div class="i2">Clap 'em forward with a</div> -<div class="i6">Loo-loo-lulu</div> -<div class="i7">Loot!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Against our soldiers, on the other hand, a great many of whom were very -poor, there had not been a single accusation of looting. In the -post-office, for instance, they ordered one of the captured British -officers to guard the safe. In the streets where windows had been -broken, they tried to keep the people from pillaging the shops. Whatever -money our men found lying loose in the buildings they occupied was -turned over to their superior officers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> Again and again I myself had -seen men of the Citizen Army, quite as poor as any British soldier, hand -over money to Commandant Mallin. Had I only thought of it, I could have -taken this with me when I was carried to the hospital. The cause would -have been at least one hundred pounds richer.</p> - -<p>At the College of Surgeons we had destroyed nothing except a portrait of -Queen Victoria. We took that down and made puttees out of it. We did not -feel we were doing any wrong, for it was Queen Victoria who, in 1848, -wrote to her uncle, King Leopold of Belgium:</p> - -<p>"There are ample means of crushing the rebellion in Ireland, and I think -it very likely to go off without any contest, which people (I think -rightly) rather regret. The Irish should receive a good lesson or they -will begin it again."</p> - -<p>From this quotation any one can see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> that the Queen looked upon the -Irish as aliens, which, indeed, they are.</p> - -<p>We also were very careful of the museum and library at the College of -Surgeons. Although the men did not have any covering and the nights were -cold, they did not cut up the rugs and carpets, but doubled them and -crept in between the folds in rows.</p> - -<p>About Jacob's Biscuit Factory, during Easter Week, even though it was a -very dangerous spot, the employees had hovered, for fear their means of -livelihood would be destroyed. But it was not. The machinery was left -uninjured, for we always remembered our own poor.</p> - -<p>At Guinness's brewery, where great quantities of stout were stored, none -of it was touched. Most of our men are teetotalers, anyway.</p> - -<p>Some of the poor of Dublin had tried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> to pillage at first, but it was a -pathetic attempt. I saw one specimen of this on Easter Tuesday, while -carrying a despatch. There was a crowd of people about a shoe-shop. The -windows had been smashed, and the poor wretches were clambering into the -shop at great risk of cutting themselves. Once inside, despite all the -outer excitement, they were taking the time to <i>try on shoes</i>! Many of -them, one could see, had never had a pair of new shoes in their lives. -Visitors to Dublin going through the poorer parts are always surprised -at the number of children and young girls who walk about bare-footed in -icy weather. It is in this way that their health is undermined.</p> - -<p>One day during the week after I left the hospital, I heard that a batch -of prisoners was to be taken to England aboard a cattle-boat leaving the -pier<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> called North Wall. I went down at once to watch for them. It was a -very wet day, and the prisoners had been marched six miles from Richmond -barracks through the pouring rain. But they were singing their rebel -songs, just as if they had never been defeated and were not on their way -to the unknown horrors of an English prison.</p> - -<p>The officer in charge seemed much excited, though he had five hundred -soldiers to look after a hundred prisoners.</p> - -<p>"For God's sake, close in, or we'll be rushed!" he shouted to his men. -Then the soldiers, with fixed bayonets, "closed in" upon the wet crowd -of rebels, who actually seemed to feel the humor of it.</p> - -<p>I knew some of the boys, and walked in between the bayonets to shake -hands with them and march a part of the way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> They had heard I was dead, -and looked at first as if they were seeing a ghost. One of them, a -little, lame playwright of whom I had caught a glimpse at Bridewell, had -told me at the time that he was writing a farce about the revolution to -show its absurdity. He had had nothing to do with the rising, for it was -his brother who had been with us at the College of Surgeons. There was -not even a charge against him; yet here he was, limping along in the -rain and mud, but still cheerful. This chap gave me a bundle of clothes -and a message for his mother, so I hunted her up the next morning. She -did not know he had been deported, and was in despair, for she had left -her little cottage in the country to be near her son in Dublin. When I -visited her she was just back from market with fruit she had bought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> to -take to him, as it was visiting day at the barracks.</p> - -<p>These are some of the things that made even quiet old mothers grow bitter.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> - -<h2>XIII</h2> - -<p>No one could leave Ireland for Scotland without a special permit from -Dublin Castle. This permit was given only when one applied in person, so -I decided to go after it. My friends were terrified; it was putting my -head into the lion's mouth. But it was the only way, even though I might -never come out of that building free.</p> - -<p>I took my arm out of the sling, hoping I should not have to raise it; -for I couldn't, nor can yet. For greater precaution, just before I -reached Dublin Castle, I removed the republican colors I always wore, -and put them in my pocket.</p> - -<p>I was taken to a room where a police<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> official began to ask me -questions. It was, I believe, my "loyal" Scotch accent that put them off -guard, when I asked for a permit to go to Glasgow. At the hospital one -of the nurses shook her head, following a long talk, and said:</p> - -<p>"Your opinions and your accent don't go together."</p> - -<p>I have often been told that I look more like a teacher of mathematics, -which, indeed, I am, than like an Irish rebel, of which I am more proud.</p> - -<p>The officer first asked me my name. I confess that I gave it to him -while wondering what his next words would be. He merely asked my address -in Dublin, so I gave him the address of friends with whom I was staying. -Would that disturb him, I wondered?</p> - -<p>"When did you come to Dublin?" he next asked.</p> - -<p>"Holy Thursday," I replied.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p><p>"Then you've been here during the rising?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," I said.</p> - -<p>In a tone which showed how deeply he had been moved by Easter Week, he -added:</p> - -<p>"It's been a terrible business!"</p> - -<p>To that I could feelingly agree.</p> - -<p>At length he gave me a permit, not one to leave Dublin, but merely to -see the military authorities. Here was another ordeal.</p> - -<p>I went up to a soldier in the corridor and asked him where I should go.</p> - -<p>"What's your name?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"It's on this permit," I replied, holding it out to him.</p> - -<p>But, as he seemed afraid to touch it, I told him my name, and he took me -to the office where the military authorities were located. I shivered a -little at the chance of his going in with me and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>telling them I was a -rebel. But he left me at the door.</p> - -<p>To my relief, the questions put to me here were the same as before. I -had only to tell the truth, and the polite officer handed over my pass.</p> - -<p>As soon as I was outside the castle I replaced my republican colors and -went home to friends who really did not expect to see me again.</p> - -<div class="center"><a name="i213.jpg" id="i213.jpg"></a><img src="images/i213.jpg" alt="THE PASS OUT OF IRELAND" /></div> - -<p class="bold">THE PASS OUT OF IRELAND FOR WHICH THE AUTHOR,<br />AT GREAT -RISK, APPLIED IN PERSON AT DUBLIN CASTLE</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p class="center">Please pass Margaret Skinnider<br />Between Dublin & England<br /> -Via<br />North Wall <span class="strikethrough">or Kingstown</span><br />[Stamp: ASSISTANT PROVOST MARSHAL DUBLIN 2/6/16]<br /> -[name unclear] Major<br />Asst. provost Marshal</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>I did not go directly to Glasgow, however, for I heard that the police -were watching all incoming trains. Instead, I went to a little seaside -resort to recuperate. My sister, who had come over to Dublin to be with -me after I left the hospital, went along, too. She was terrified when we -got off the boat because police were watching the gangway. But nothing -happened. My mother came to see me, and took it all splendidly, though -from the first I had given<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> her an anxious time of it. She is a good -rebel.</p> - -<p>I was proud that I could tell my mother I had been mentioned three times -for bravery in despatches sent to headquarters. The third time was when -I was wounded. Commandant Mallin had said then:</p> - -<p>"You'll surely be given the republican cross."</p> - -<p>But the republic did not last long enough for that. I <i>was</i> given an -Irish cross. This was the joint gift of the Cumman-na-mBan girls and the -Irish Volunteers of Glasgow. They arranged, as a surprise for me, a -meeting with addresses and songs. Since I had no hint of it, I was out -of Scotland on the day set. They had to repeat part of the ceremony when -I came back. It all was meant to be very solemn, but somehow I felt -strange and absurd to be getting a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> cross for bravery that had led to -death or prison so many others.</p> - -<p>I had left Scotland very quietly to go to England and see some of our -boys being held in Reading Jail without any charge against them. I had -had a good talk with them, even though a guard stood near all the time. -He was a pleasant-enough person, so we included him in our conversation, -explaining the whole rising to him. The boys were in good spirits, too. -They laughed when I told them I had always boasted I would never set -foot in England. And here, on their account, I was not only in England, -but in an English prison.</p> - -<p>We had very few Irish revolutionists in the Scotch prisons. Two hundred -of them were brought, during August, to Barlinnie Prison, but they were -allowed to stay only a short time. Far too much sympathy was expressed -for them by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> the Irish in Glasgow and by Scotch suffragettes, who made a -point of going to visit them and taking them comforts. Presently they -were removed to the camp at Frongoch, Wales, where several hundred -others who had taken part in the rising were interned. As they marched -through the streets of Glasgow, we could not help noticing how much -larger and finer looking they appeared than the British soldiers -guarding them. They were men from Galway,—men who for six long days had -put up a memorable fight in that county, and with less than forty rifles -had held six hundred square miles! Three thousand of the rifles that -went down with the <i>Aud</i> had been promised to Galway. Yet five hundred -men had been ready to "go out" when they heard that, despite the -countermanding order, Dublin forces were rebelling, no matter what the odds.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> - -<h2>XIV</h2> - -<p>When I went back to Dublin in August, it was to find that almost every -one on the streets was wearing republican colors. The feeling was -bitter, too—so bitter that the British soldiers had orders to go about -in fives and sixes, but never singly. They were not allowed by their -officers to leave the main thoroughfares, and had to be in barracks -before dark,—that is, all except the patrol. The city was still under -martial law, but it seemed to me the military authorities were the -really nervous persons. Much of this bitterness came from the fact that -people remembered how, after the war in South Africa which lasted three -years<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> instead of five days, only one man had been executed. After <i>our</i> -rising sixteen men had been put to death.</p> - -<p>Everywhere I heard the opinion expressed that if the revolution could -have lasted a little longer, we would have been flooded with recruits. -As it was, the rising had taken people completely by surprise. Before -they could recover from that surprise, it was over, and its leaders were -paying the penalty of death or imprisonment. One week is a short time -for the general, uninformed mass of a dominated people to decide whether -an outbreak of any sort is merely an impotent rebellion, or a real -revolution with some promise of success. Besides, there have been so -many isolated protests in Ireland, doomed from the first to failure.</p> - -<p>There was evidence everywhere that the feeling of bitterness was not -vague,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> but the direct result of fully understanding what had happened. -At a moving-picture performance of "The Great Betrayal," I was surprised -at the spirit of daring in the audience. The story was about one of -those abortive nationalist revolts in Italy which preceded the -revolution that made Italy free. The plot was parallel in so many -respects to the Easter Week rising in Ireland that crowds flocked every -day to see it. In the final picture, when the heroic leaders were shot -in cold blood, men in the audience called out bitterly:</p> - -<p>"That's right, Colthurst! Keep it up!"</p> - -<p>Colthurst was the man who shot Sheehy Skeffington without trial on the -second day of the rising. He had been promoted for his deeds of wanton -cruelty, and only the fact that a royal commission was demanded by -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>Skeffington's widow and her friends, made it necessary to adjudge him -insane as excuse for his behavior, when that behavior was finally -brought to light.</p> - -<p>It was on the occasion of my visit to the moving-pictures that I was -annoyed by the knowledge that a detective was following me. His only -disguise was to don Irish tweeds such as "Irish Irelanders" wear to -stimulate home industry. He had been following me about Dublin ever -since my arrival for my August visit. To this day I don't know why he -did not arrest me, nor what he was waiting for me to do. But I decided -now to give him the slip. In Glasgow I have had much practice jumping on -cars going at full speed. The Dublin cars are much slower, so as a car -passed me in the middle of the block, I suddenly leaped aboard, leaving -my British friend standing agape with astonishment on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> the sidewalk. -Doubtless he felt the time had come for me to carry out whatever plot I -had up my sleeve, and that he had been defeated in his purpose of -looking on. I never saw him again.</p> - -<p class="space-above">Even the children of Ireland have become republicans. There was a strike -not long ago in Dublin schools because an order was issued by the -authorities that school children should not wear republican colors. The -day after the teachers made this announcement some few children obeyed -the order, but they appeared in white dresses with green and orange -ribbons in their hair or cap. When this, too, was forbidden, the pupils -in one of the schools marched out in a body, and proceeded to other -schools throughout the city to call out the pupils on strike. Any school -that did not obey<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> their summons promptly had its windows smashed. -Finally, the police were called and marched against them. The children, -as the sympathetic press put it, "retreated in good order to Mountjoy -Square, where they took their stand and defended their position with -what ammunition was at hand, namely, paving-stones." The end of it all -was that the children won, and went back to school wearing as many -badges or flags as they wished.</p> - -<p>Irish boys are showing their attitude, too, for at Padraic Pearse's -school, conducted now by a brother of Thomas McDonagh who taught there -before the rising, there are several hundred boys on the waiting-list. -The school never was as crowded before; the work that Pearse gave his -life for, the inspiriting of Irish youth, is still going on.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p><p>Out on Leinster Road one day, I walked past that house where, not nine -months before, I had met so many people of the republican movement. The -house was empty, with that peculiar look of bereavement that some houses -wear. It had been an embodiment of the Countess Markievicz, and, now -that she was gone, looked doomed. Where was she? Over in England in -Aylesbury Prison, but fortunately at work in the kitchen. I could not -fancy her depressed beyond activity of some sort that in the end would -be for Ireland's good.</p> - -<p class="center">"A felon's cap's the noblest crown an Irish head can wear."</p> - -<p>This was one of her favorite quotations, and I knew that in wearing the -cap, her courage would not desert her. Her sister had seen her, and told -me she was in good spirits; grateful that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> they had put her to work and -not left her to inactivity or brooding thoughts. She had repeated what -an old woman in Mountjoy Prison had said to her:</p> - -<p>"Man never built a wall but God Almighty threw a gap in it!"</p> - -<p class="space-above">Last November I paid another visit to Dublin. The bitterness had increased.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> - -<h2>SONGS SUNG BY THE IRISH<br />BEFORE AND AFTER THE<br />EASTER RISING</h2> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p> - -<p>Here is one of my favorite songs as a child:</p> - -<p class="center">O'DONNELL ABOO</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="center">I</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Proudly the note of the trumpet is sounding,</div> -<div>Loudly the war-cries arise on the gale;</div> -<div>Fleetly the steed by Lough Swilly is bounding,</div> -<div>To join the thick squadrons in Saimear's green vale.</div> -<div class="i1">On, every mountaineer,</div> -<div class="i1">Strangers to fight and fear!</div> -<div>Rush to the standard of dauntless Red Hugh!</div> -<div class="i1">Bonnaught and gallowglass,</div> -<div class="i1">Throng from each mountain pass;</div> -<div>Onward for Erin, O'Donnell Aboo!</div></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>II</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Princely O'Neill to our aid is advancing</div> -<div>With many a chieftain and warrior clan.</div> -<div>A thousand proud steeds in his vanguard are prancing</div> -<div>'Neath borderers brave from the banks of the Bann.</div> -<div class="i1">Many a heart shall quail</div> -<div class="i1">Under its coat of mail;</div> -<div>Deeply the merciless foeman shall rue,</div> -<div class="i1">When on his ear shall ring,</div> -<div class="i1">Borne on the breezes' wing,</div> -<div>Sir Connell's dread war-cry, "O'Donnell Aboo!"</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">III</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Wildly o'er Deamond the war-wolf is howling!</div> -<div>Fearless the eagle sweeps over the plain!</div> -<div>The fox in the streets of the city is prowling!</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>All, all who would scare them are banished or slain!</div> -<div class="i1">Grasp every stalwart hand</div> -<div class="i1">Hackbut and battle brand,</div> -<div>Pay them all back the deep debt so long due!</div> -<div class="i1">Norris and Clifford well</div> -<div class="i1">Can of Sir Connell tell;</div> -<div>Onward to glory, "O'Donnell Aboo!"</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">IV</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Sacred the cause of Clan Connail's defending,</div> -<div>The altars we kneel at, the homes of our sires.</div> -<div>Ruthless the ruin the foe is extending.</div> -<div>Midnight is red with the plunderers' fires.</div> -<div class="i1">On with O'Donnell, then!</div> -<div class="i1">Fight the old fight again,</div> -<div>Sons of Sir Connell, all valiant and true;</div> -<div class="i1"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>Make the false Saxon feel</div> -<div class="i1">Erin's avenging steel!</div> -<div>Strike for your country, "O'Donnell Aboo!"</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="space-above">This was the other:</p> - -<p class="center">THE JACKETS GREEN</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>When I was a maiden fair and young</div> -<div>On the pleasant banks of Lee,</div> -<div>No bird that in the wild wood sang</div> -<div>Was half so blythe and free;</div> -<div>My heart ne'er beats with flying feet,</div> -<div>Tho' Love sand me his queen,</div> -<div>Till down the glen rode Saisfield's men</div> -<div>And they wore their jackets green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>II</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Young Donal sat on his gallant gray</div> -<div>Like a king on a royal seat,</div> -<div>And my heart leaped out on his regal way</div> -<div>To worship at his feet;</div> -<div>O Love, had you come in those colors dressed,</div> -<div>And woo'd with a soldier's mien,</div> -<div>I'd have laid my head on your throbbing breast</div> -<div>For the sake of the Irish green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">III</div> -<div> </div> -<div>No hoarded wealth did my love own</div> -<div>Save the good sword that he bore,</div> -<div>But I loved him for himself alone</div> -<div>And the colors bright he wore.</div> -<div>For had he come in England's red</div> -<div>To make me England's queen,</div> -<div>I'd rove the high green hills instead</div> -<div>For the sake of the Irish green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>IV</div> -<div> </div> -<div>When William stormed with shot and shell</div> -<div>At the walls of Garryowen,</div> -<div>In the breach of death my Donal fell,</div> -<div>And he sleeps near the treaty stone.</div> -<div>That breach the foeman never crossed</div> -<div>While he swung his broadsword keen,</div> -<div>But I do not weep my darling lost,</div> -<div>For he fell in his jacket green.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">Here is a song that Madam liked very much. It was the most popular song -of the Fenians:</p> - -<p class="center">THE FELONS OF OUR LAND</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Fill up once more, we'll drink a toast</div> -<div class="i1">To comrades far away,</div> -<div>No nation upon earth can boast</div> -<div class="i1">Of braver hearts than they;</div> -<div>And though they sleep in dungeons deep,</div> -<div class="i1">Or flee, outlawed and banned,</div> -<div>We love them yet, we can't forget</div> -<div class="i1">The felons of our land.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>In boyhood's bloom and manhood's pride</div> -<div class="i1">Foredoomed by alien laws,</div> -<div>Some on the scaffold proudly died</div> -<div class="i1">For Ireland's holy cause;</div> -<div>And, brother, say, shall we to-day</div> -<div class="i1">Unmoved, like cowards stand,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>While traitors shame and foes defame</div> -<div class="i1">The felons of our land?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Some in the convict's dreary cell</div> -<div class="i1">Have found a living tomb,</div> -<div>And some, unknown, unfriended, fell</div> -<div class="i1">Within the prison's gloom;</div> -<div>But what care we, although it be</div> -<div class="i1">Trod by a ruffian band?</div> -<div>God bless the clay where rest to-day</div> -<div class="i1">The felons of our land!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Let cowards sneer and tyrants frown,</div> -<div class="i1">Oh, little do we care!</div> -<div>The felon's cap 's the noblest crown</div> -<div class="i1">An Irish head can wear!</div> -<div>And every Gael in Innisfail</div> -<div class="i1">Who scorns the serf's vile brand,</div> -<div>From Lee to Boyne would gladly join</div> -<div class="i1">The felons of our land!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">This is one of the songs of earlier risings which we all sang during -the last one:</p> - -<p class="center">WRAP THE GREEN FLAG 'ROUND ME, BOYS</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="center">I</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Wrap the green flag 'round me, boys,</div> -<div>To die 'twere far more sweet,</div> -<div>With Erin's noble emblem, boys,</div> -<div>To be my winding-sheet;</div> -<div>In life I longed to see it wave,</div> -<div>And followed where it led,</div> -<div>But now my eyes grow dim, my hand</div> -<div>Would grasp its last bright shred.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">II</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Oh, I had hopes to meet you, boys,</div> -<div>On many a well-fought field,</div> -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p><div>When to our bright green banner, boys,</div> -<div>The treacherous foe would yield;</div> -<div>But now, alas, I am denied</div> -<div>My dearest earthly prayer,</div> -<div>You'll follow and you'll meet the foe</div> -<div>But I shall not be there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">III</div> -<div> </div> -<div>But though my body molder, boys,</div> -<div>My spirit will be free,</div> -<div>And every comrade's honor, boys,</div> -<div>Will still be dear to me;</div> -<div>And in the thick and bloody fight,</div> -<div>Let not your courage lag,</div> -<div>For I'll be there, and hovering near</div> -<div>Around the dear old flag!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">This song, written by the Countess Markiewicz to the tune of "The Young -May Moon," had a great effect in Dublin, before the rising, in -preventing the British from getting Irish recruits. It was sung -everywhere and went thus:</p> - -<p class="center">ANTI-RECRUITING SONG</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="center">I</div> -<div> </div> -<div>The recruiters are raidin' old Dublin, boys,</div> -<div>It's them we'll have to be troublin', boys,</div> -<div>We'll go to their meetin's and give them such greetin's,</div> -<div>We'll give them in German for fun, me boys;</div> -<div>'Tis the Germans they're out to destroy, me boys,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>Whose prosperity did so annoy, me boys,</div> -<div>So let each Irish blade just stick to his trade</div> -<div>And let Bull do his own dirty work, me boys.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div>For the Germans are winning the war, me boys,</div> -<div>And England is feeling so sore, me boys,</div> -<div>They're passing conscription, the only prescription</div> -<div>To make Englishmen go to the front, me boys.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">II</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Your boss, he won't go to the war, me boys,</div> -<div>Hun bullets do him so annoy, me boys,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>So kindly he frees you, he does it to squeeze you</div> -<div>To fight for his money and him, me boys;</div> -<div>They've hunger conscription in Ireland, boys,</div> -<div>You'll starve till you're thin as a wire, me boys,</div> -<div>You'll get very thin, but you won't care a pin</div> -<div>For you'll know it's for Ireland's sake, me boys.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div>For the English are losing the war, me boys,</div> -<div>And they want <i>us</i> all killed before, me boys,</div> -<div>The great German nation has sworn their damnation,</div> -<div>And we'll echo the curse with a will, me boys.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> </div> -<div class="center">III</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Then hurrah for the gallant old Dublin, boys,</div> -<div>And if you wouldn't be muddlin', boys,</div> -<div>Join a Volunteer corps, or, if that is a bore,</div> -<div>The Citizen Army's as good, me boys.</div> -<div>Then hurrah for the Volunteers, me boys,</div> -<div>Ireland in arms has no fears, me boys,</div> -<div>And surely if we would see Ireland free,</div> -<div>We'll arm and we'll drill for the Day, me boys.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div>For the Germans are going to win, me boys,</div> -<div>And Ireland will have to butt in, me boys,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>From a Gael with a gun the Briton will run,</div> -<div>And we'll dance at the wake of the Empire, boys!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">Here is another satirical song, very popular just before and during the -rising. The man who sung it, called Brian na Banba, was deported by the -English after the rising:</p> - -<p class="center">HARP OR LION?</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Neighbors, list and hear from me</div> -<div>The wondrous news I've read to-day,</div> -<div>Ireland's love of liberty</div> -<div>'Tis said is dead and passed away;</div> -<div>Irish men have all grown wiser,</div> -<div>Now they'll heed no ill adviser,</div> -<div>They despise their country's story,</div> -<div>All they love is England's glory—</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div>All they love is England's glory,</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>Now we all must grieve to know</div> -<div>The deep offense our fathers gave,</div> -<div>Meeting men with thrust and blow</div> -<div>That came to rob them and enslave;</div> -<div>We should blush for their ill-doing,</div> -<div>Give their errors no renewing,</div> -<div>And, unlike those old transgressors,</div> -<div>Never hurt our isle's oppressors—</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div>Never hurt our isle's oppressors,</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Only think of Hugh O'Neill,</div> -<div>Thundering down in furious style,</div> -<div>To assail with lead and steel</div> -<div>The rovers from our sister isle;</div> -<div>Chiefs and clans in all directions</div> -<div>With their far and near connections,</div> -<div>Warriors bold and swift uprisers,</div> -<div>Rushing on their civilizers—</div> -<div class="i3"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div>On their gracious civilizers,</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Surely, friends, the chance is great</div> -<div>We'll cast a cloud on Emmet's fame,</div> -<div>Scoff at Tone and '98,</div> -<div>And scorn Lord Edward's honored name;</div> -<div>Then, in quite a loyal manner,</div> -<div>Clip and dye our old green banner,</div> -<div>And, where hangs the harp of Brian,</div> -<div>Place the mangy British lion—</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div>Place the mangy British lion,</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Surely, friends, it seems to me,</div> -<div>England's self ere now should know,</div> -<div>These are things she'll never see,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>Let Ireland's star be high or low;</div> -<div>That's the truth, whoe'er denies it,</div> -<div>Scouts it, flouts it, or decries it,</div> -<div>Aids to spread a vile invention,</div> -<div>Drawn from—where I will not mention!</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -<div>From the place 'tis wrong to mention,</div> -<div class="i3">Ha, ha, ha!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">Another song, written to discourage recruiting for the English army in -Ireland, goes thus:</p> - -<p class="center">EIGHT MILLIONS OF ENGLISH MEN</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="center">I</div> -<div> </div> -<div class="i1">Good old Britain, rule the waves</div> -<div class="i1">And gobble up all the land,</div> -<div class="i1">Bring out the blacks and Indian braves</div> -<div class="i1">To jigger the German band;</div> -<div class="i1">Call up Australia and Canada, too,</div> -<div class="i1">To shatter the Kaiser's den,</div> -<div>We'll stick to the looms while the howitzer booms,</div> -<div class="i1">Eight millions of English men;</div> -<div class="i1">Of mafficking, manly men;</div> -<div class="i1">Of valiant, loyal men;</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>We'll capture the trade from here to Belgrade,</div> -<div class="i1">Eight millions of English men.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">II</div> -<div> </div> -<div class="i1">There are plenty of fools in Ireland still,</div> -<div class="i1">Just promise them something soon,</div> -<div class="i1">A Union Jack, or a Home Rule Bill,</div> -<div class="i1">Or a slice of the next new moon;</div> -<div class="i1">And they'll rush to the colors with wild hurroos,</div> -<div class="i1">What price the War Lord then?</div> -<div>They'll settle his hash, while we gobble his cash,</div> -<div class="i1">Eight millions of English men;</div> -<div class="i1">Of beef-eating, bull-dog men;</div> -<div class="i1">Of undersized, able men;</div> -<div>We're shy of the guns, but we'll beggar the Huns,</div> -<div class="i1">Eight millions of English men.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">This is a song that includes the Irish leaders in Parliament in its -satire on Irish "loyalty" to England:</p> - - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i1">"Now," says Lady Aberdeen,</div> -<div class="i1">"I've a message from the Queen</div> -<div>To the loyal hearts in Ireland here at home;</div> -<div class="i1">She wants you all to gather socks,</div> -<div class="i1">Plain as I, or decked with clocks,</div> -<div>Just to prove the Irish loyal to the throne."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div>To Hell with the King, and God save Ireland,</div> -<div class="i1">Get a sack and start the work to-day,</div> -<div>Gather all the socks you meet, for the English Tommies' feet,</div> -<div class="i1"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>When they're running from the Germans far away!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i1">"When you've gathered all the socks,</div> -<div class="i1">Send them on to Dr. Cox,</div> -<div>Or to Redmond, or to Dillon, or myself,</div> -<div class="i1">For the party on the floor</div> -<div class="i1">Have agreed to look them o'er</div> -<div>While the Home Rule Bill is resting on the shelf."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -</div></div></div> - -<blockquote><p>(Same as first stanza. The first line is a parody on the loyalist -toast: "Here's a health to the King, and God save Ireland!")</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">The Irish Citizen Army song was written by Jo Connolly, a young -workingman, whose brother, Sean Connolly, was killed while leading the -attack on Dublin Castle Easter Monday. Jo was the boy who cut loopholes -in the roof of the College of Surgeons. He was deported to Wandsworth -Prison, but after a few months was released. The song is sung to the -tune which you know as "John Brown's Body":</p> - -<p class="center">THE IRISH CITIZEN ARMY</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="center">I</div> -<div> </div> -<div>The Irish Citizen Army is the name of our wee band,</div> -<div>With our marchin' and our drillin', I'm sure you'll call it grand;</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>And when we start our fightin' it will be for Ireland,</div> -<div class="i1">And we'll still keep marching on!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div class="i1">Glory, glory to old Ireland!</div> -<div class="i1">Glory, glory to our sireland!</div> -<div>Glory to the memory of those who fought and fell,</div> -<div class="i1">And we'll still keep marching on!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">II</div> -<div> </div> -<div>We've got guns and ammunition, we know how to use them well,</div> -<div>And when we meet the Saxon, we will drive them all to Hell;</div> -<div>We've got to free our country and avenge all those who fell,</div> -<div class="i1">So we still keep marching on!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> </div> -<div class="center">III</div> -<div> </div> -<div>King George he is a coward, that no one can deny,</div> -<div>When the Germans come to England, from there he'll have to fly;</div> -<div>And if he comes to Ireland then, by God, he'll have to die,</div> -<div class="i1">And we'll still go marching on!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">IV</div> -<div> </div> -<div>When the Germans come to free us, we will lend a helping hand,</div> -<div>For we believe they're just as good as any in the land,</div> -<div>They're bound to win our rights for us, let England go be damned!</div> -<div class="i1">And we'll still keep marching on!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">Here is the song of the Irish Volunteers, sung at all concerts held -before the rising to get funds for rifles and ammunition. The Volunteers -sang it whenever they marched, and I have been told the men in the -rising of '67 also sang it. It was sung everywhere during the last -rising. When we first withdrew to the College of Surgeons, Frank Robins -sang it, and we all joined in the chorus:</p> - -<p class="center">VOLUNTEER MARCHING SONG</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>I'll sing you a song, a soldier's song,</div> -<div class="i1">With a cheering, rousing chorus,</div> -<div>As round the blazing camp-fire we throng,</div> -<div class="i1">The starry heavens o'er us;</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>Impatient for the coming fight,</div> -<div>And, as we watch the dawning light,</div> -<div>Here in the silence of the night</div> -<div class="i1">We'll chant the soldier's song:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Soldiers are we whose lives are pledged to Ireland!</div> -<div>Some have come from a land beyond the wave,</div> -<div>Sworn to be free! No more our ancient sireland</div> -<div>Shall shelter the despot and the slave!</div> -<div>To-night we'll man the bearna booighill,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></div> -<div>In Erin's cause come woe or weal,</div> -<div>'Mid cannon's roar or rifle's peal,</div> -<div class="i1">We'll chant a soldier's song!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div>'Mid valleys green and towering crag,</div> -<div class="i1">Our fathers fought before us,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>And conquered 'neath the same old flag</div> -<div class="i1">That's proudly floating o'er us;</div> -<div>We're children of a fighting race</div> -<div>That never yet has known disgrace,</div> -<div>And as we go our foe to face,</div> -<div class="i1">We'll chant a soldier's song:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Sons of the Gael, men of the Pale,</div> -<div class="i1">The long-watched day is breaking!</div> -<div>The serried ranks of Innisfail</div> -<div class="i1">Have set the tyrant quaking!</div> -<div>But now our camp-fire's burning low,</div> -<div>See in the east a silver glow!</div> -<div>Out yonder waits the Saxon foe!</div> -<div class="i1">Then chant a soldier's song:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">CHORUS</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">The Fianna also had their songs. One of them, written by one of the -Fianna boys, goes:</p> - - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i1">Draw the sword ye Irish men!</div> -<div class="i1">The sword is mightier than the pen!</div> -<div>Fight the good old fight again</div> -<div>To crush the old transgressor!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i1">Break the bonds of slavery!</div> -<div class="i1">O great God, it cannot be</div> -<div class="i1">That Gaels could ever bend the knee</div> -<div class="i1">To England, their oppressor!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">Almost before it was over, the rising became part of the great -patriotic tradition of Ireland, and on all sides new songs were heard -celebrating it and those who took leading parts in it. Some of these -songs were heavy with a sense of the nation's tragedy. Others—those -written by men who had taken part in the rising—were often full of wit, -that dauntless Irish spirit that does not forsake men even in defeat and -imprisonment. But the most moving, now the most popular of them all, was -written by a nun. It is sung to the tune of "Who Fears to Speak of '98?" -and begins:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Who fears to speak of Easter Week?</div> -<div>Who dares its fate deplore?</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>The red-gold flame of Erin's name</div> -<div>Confronts the world once more!</div> -<div>So, Irishmen, remember, then,</div> -<div>And raise your heads with pride,</div> -<div>For great men, and straight men</div> -<div>Have fought for you and died!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>The spirit wave that came to save</div> -<div>The peerless Celtic soul,</div> -<div>From earthly stain of greed and gain</div> -<div>Had caught them in its roll;</div> -<div>Had raised them high to do or die,</div> -<div>To sound the trumpet call,</div> -<div>To true men, though few men,</div> -<div>To follow one and all!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Upon their shield, a stainless field</div> -<div>With virtue blazoned bright,</div> -<div>With temperance and purity,</div> -<div>With truth and honor, right;</div> -<div>And now they stand at God's right hand,</div> -<div>Who framed their dauntless clay,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>Who taught them, and brought them</div> -<div>The honor of to-day!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>The ancient foe hath boasted,—lo:</div> -<div>That Irishmen were tame!</div> -<div>They bought our souls with paltry doles,</div> -<div>And told the world of slaves;</div> -<div>That lie, men, will die, men,</div> -<div>In Pearse and Plunkett's graves!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">Here is a song written by a member of the Irish Republican army while -he was confined in Richmond Barracks, Dublin, a month after the rising. -It is sung to the tune of "The Mountains of Mourne":</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="center">I</div> -<div> </div> -<div>In Dublin's fair city there's sorrow to-day</div> -<div>For the flower of her manhood who fell in the fray;</div> -<div>Her youths and her maidens, her joy and her pride</div> -<div>Have gone down in battle, in war's raging tide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">II</div> -<div> </div> -<div>They came forth to fight for a cause that was grand,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>When freedom and liberty called to their land;</div> -<div>In the ardor of youth, in the spring of the year,</div> -<div>They came without falter, they fought without fear.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">III</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Near the noon of that day on that April morn,</div> -<div>Their tramp shook the street where young Emmet was born;</div> -<div>They waved high their banner, white, orange and green,</div> -<div>And it waved over freemen, the men of '16!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">IV</div> -<div> </div> -<div>And high o'er the Liffey it waved in the wind,</div> -<div>Over hearts that were brave and the noblest of minds;</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>And they fought as of old, and they held the old town</div> -<div>Till their banner, unsullied, in darkness went down.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">V</div> -<div> </div> -<div>In that Easter Week, dear old Dublin was freed,</div> -<div>By the blood of her sons from Swords to the Sea,</div> -<div>Oh, proudly again does she raise her old head</div> -<div>When the nations lament and salute her bold dead!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">VI</div> -<div> </div> -<div>O Irish Republic! O dream of our dreams!</div> -<div>Resplendent in vision thy bright beauty gleams!</div> -<div>Though fallen and crushed 'neath thy enemy's heel,</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>Thy glory and beauty shine burnished like steel!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">VII</div> -<div> </div> -<div>Not in vain was their death who for Ireland died,</div> -<div>And their deeds in our hearts in gold are inscribed;</div> -<div>The freeing of Ireland to us is their trust,</div> -<div>And we can if we will it, we can if we must!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div> </div> -<div class="center">VIII</div> -<div> </div> -<div>In Dublin's fair city there's sorrow to-day,</div> -<div>For the flower of her manhood who fell in the fray;</div> -<div>But in hearts that are true there is nothing of gloom,</div> -<div>And Erin regenerate shall rise from the tomb!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">The rising inspired not only verse, but music. One of the most popular -songs in Ireland to-day is "Easter Week"; the words by Francis Grenade, -the music by Joseph Mary Crofts:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Long, long the years thy chains have bound thee, Eire,</div> -<div>Bitter the tears that sparkled in thy eyes,</div> -<div>Sudden the cry of freedom thrills the city,</div> -<div>Brave hearts beat high, thy children round thee rise;</div> -<div>'Mid shot and shell, where flaming cannon thunder,</div> -<div>From out that hell we hear their battle-cry:</div> -<div><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>"Sinn Fein Amain!" Thy sons salute thee, Eire!</div> -<div>See! Freedom's dawn is flushing in the skies!</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Dark Rosaleen, thy trampled flag, we swear it,</div> -<div>Shall lift its sheen triumphant in the sun!</div> -<div>Thy galling chain, our gallant sword shall save her,</div> -<div>Ended thy pain and weeping, dearest one!</div> -<div>In plaintive strains our hearts shall mourn our heroes,</div> -<div>Till once again thy banner waveth free,</div> -<div>Close to thy breast, then guard them, gentle Eire,</div> -<div>There shall they rest till time shall cease to be!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p> - -<p>If any proof were needed of the unbroken spirit of our men after the -rising, there could be none better than in the gay and challenging tone -of many of the songs written and sung at the internment camp at -Frongoch, Wales. The British guards were particularly irritated by one -in which every verse ended with the line:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Sinn Feiners, Pro-Germans, alive, alive O!"</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>But there was another that the guards not only tolerated but took to -singing themselves, much to the amusement of our men. The reason they -sang it was because the air was catchy and they had no means of knowing -that the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>"N. D. U." is the North Dublin Union or workhouse. It was -written by Jack McDonagh, brother of Thomas McDonagh, the poet, who -signed the proclamation of the republic and was shot for it. Here is the chorus:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i3">Come along and join the British Army,</div> -<div>Show that you're not afraid,</div> -<div class="i3">Put your name upon the roll of honor,</div> -<div>In the Dublin "Pal's Brigade"!</div> -<div class="i3">They'll send you out to France or Flanders,</div> -<div>To show that you're true blue,</div> -<div class="i3">But when the war is o'er,</div> -<div class="i3">They won't need you any more,</div> -<div>So they'll shut you in the N.D.U.!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Pronounced "barnabweel," which means, "gap of danger."</p></div></div> - -<p class="center space-above">THE END</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Doing My Bit For Ireland, by Margaret Skinnider - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOING MY BIT FOR IRELAND *** - -***** This file should be named 52740-h.htm or 52740-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/7/4/52740/ - -Produced by Brownfox, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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