“In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty; six times during the past three hundred years they have asserted it in arms. Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.”
– “Proclamation of the Irish Republic,” 24 April 1916 (during World War One)
Other rebellions had tried to establish Irish independence, but this is the one that succeeded …
There have been many rebellions against British authority in what is today “Ireland,” but most of these rebellions failed to overthrow British rule in Ireland. Indeed, this is part of the reason that the initial rebellions were followed by others in later centuries, to finish the work that the others had tried to begin. But the Irish rebellion of 1916 is the one that succeeded where the others had failed. This is the rebellion that succeeded in creating the “Irish Free State,” which would one day be known as the “Republic of Ireland” – a name that it acquired later, some decades after the fact. Other documentaries have covered this ground before, but PBS seems to cover it in much greater depth than any of the others. Even three hours doesn’t really do this subject justice, as it turns out, but this program seems to make the most of its (still fairly limited) running time. It helps you to understand why this Irish rebellion happened – and why it ultimately succeeded, where the others had failed.
The first episode is called “Awakening,” and it is about the causes of the rebellion …
The first of these three episodes is called “Awakening.” It briefly covers the causes of the rebellion, going back to when the British first conquered Ireland in the Middle Ages. This will be familiar territory to anyone who has watched “The Story of Ireland,” by the BBC – something which may actually be better at exploring the causes of this division of Ireland. (Although this documentary is definitely better at covering the rebellion itself, because its coverage is more in-depth on this score.) Among other things, they discuss Ireland’s merger with Great Britain into the United Kingdom, and the history of the movement for Irish independence as well. Another part of this episode gives some background information on a few of the future leaders of the rebellion. These biographical sketches are quite interesting, and don’t always paint a flattering picture of some of the rabble-rousers. For example, these people come across as a bit out-of-touch with the public mood of that time, and their secret plots to overthrow the British government originally had very little chance of succeeding. (Indeed, the rebellion was not “inevitable,” as some later tellings of the story seem to have made it out to be.) In the BBC’s “The Story of Ireland” (which I review here), the host says that most of the Irish people were actually content to remain part of the British Empire at the outset. Nonetheless, this documentary may be correct to say that Irish Catholics were second-class citizens in their own country at this time, but most people were nonetheless all right with maintaining the status quo for the time being. It is also true that they wanted more “home rule” (read: local control), but they were not yet radical enough to want to break away entirely. It was the British's own actions that would help to change that – but I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Irish soldiers at the Somme, 1916 (part of World War One)
The second episode is called “Insurrection,” and it is about the 1916 Easter Rising itself …
The second episode covers the 1916 “Easter Rising” itself, which began to change some of these things. (Incidentally, the title of this second episode is “Insurrection” – an apt title for it.) The “Easter Rising” would actually last for less than a week, which makes their one hour on this subject particularly in-depth. Most of this uprising actually took place in Dublin, and their coverage is detailed enough to mention particular streets in Dublin where these things happened (which is good). They also make good use of a period map of the city, with the streets and landmarks noted there as needed. This documentary came out in 2016, in the centennial year of the uprising. Therefore, being made some 100 years after these events depicted here, the filmmakers were thus unable to interview the participants to these events for themselves. But this isn't as much of a weakness as you might think, because there is some archival footage of the past interviews with some of the participants, done when they were still alive. Some of this archival footage is in black-and-white, and some of it is actually in color. But the graininess of the images (even the color images) makes it clear that they were filmed decades ago (clear, in the light of the context). These interviews allow us to hear the eyewitnesses speak in their own words, and to hear their words in the way that they said them. For written accounts from characters who were never recorded on film, the documentary makes some limited use of voice-acting; but it relies on the archival interview footage wherever possible – something that is a great strength to it. (It also relies on the period footage of some of the events themselves, and adds sound to this silent footage wherever possible.)
British soldiers marching rebel soldiers away after the rising, 1916
The third episode is called “When Myth and History Rhyme,” and it covers some of the effects of the rebellion …
The third episode is called “When Myth and History Rhyme,” and it briefly covers the effects of the 1916 Easter Rising. I was hoping that it would spend some more time on the Irish War of Independence, sometimes known as the “Anglo-Irish War.” This is because the Easter Rising was less than one week long, while the Irish War of Independence lasted for two and a half years. This war did not begin until January 1919 – a couple of months after World War One had ended. But surprisingly, they spend very little time on the Irish War of Independence, except in covering how it started. For example, they mention how the British response to the Easter Rising created more support for the rebellion, but do not really cover the Anglo-Irish War in any sort of depth. Thus, I will undertake to cover some of the things that they missed here, so that I may make up for its deficiencies (at least somewhat).
The spot at Kilmainham “Gaol” (or “Jail”) where most of the ringleaders were executed
… although it does not go much into the later “Irish War of Independence” …
The Anglo-Irish War began with the “Irish Declaration of Independence” (not to be confused with the “Proclamation of the Irish Republic” in 1916, quoted earlier). Texts of this Declaration were adopted in Irish, English, and French. Quoting from the English version, it said that “Now, therefore, we, the elected Representatives of the ancient Irish people in National Parliament assembled, do, in the name of the Irish nation, ratify the establishment of the Irish Republic and pledge ourselves and our people to make this declaration effective by every means at our command … We ordain that the elected Representatives of the Irish people alone have power to make laws binding on the people of Ireland, and that the Irish Parliament is the only Parliament to which that people will give its allegiance” (Source: Irish Declaration of Independence, 21 January 1919). These were lofty words, but they would not have any legal force until their side won the war. Since World War One had ended only a couple of months before, the British army was just coming home from the war at this time. Since they were no longer busy fighting the Germans across the Channel, they could now be sent home to fight the rebels in the British Isles (namely, in Ireland). The rebellion would thus last for nearly two and a half years, as mentioned earlier.
Aftermath of the bombing of Cork, 1920 – Irish War of Independence
… which ended in the division of Ireland in the 1920's (although it does cover this somewhat)
In 1922, there was an “Anglo-Irish Treaty,” which created the Irish Free State. It also led to (and shaped) the “Constitution of the Irish Free State” (1922). The first section of the “Anglo-Irish Treaty” said that “Ireland shall have the same constitutional status in the Community of Nations known as the British Empire as the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa with a Parliament having powers to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Ireland and an Executive responsible to that Parliament, and shall be styled and known as the Irish Free State.” (Source: Section 1) However, the document made clear that Northern Ireland was not to be a part of this “Irish Free State” – something that has long been a thorn in the side of the “Irish Republican Army.” The document said that “Until the expiration of one month from the passing of the Act of Parliament for the ratification of this instrument, the powers of the Parliament and the government of the Irish Free State shall not be exercisable as respects Northern Ireland” (Source: Section 11). It also said that “the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, shall, so far as they relate to Northern Ireland, remain of full force and effect, and no election shall be held for the return of members to serve in the Parliament of the Irish Free State for constituencies in Northern Ireland, unless a resolution is passed by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in favour of the holding of such elections before the end of the said month.” (Source: Section 11) This never happened on that timetable (or at all), so Northern Ireland instead stayed a part of the United Kingdom, and remains such to this day.
Flag of the Irish Free State (and later the flag of its successor state, the Republic of Ireland)
Nonetheless, this documentary may be the definitive coverage of the 1916 Easter Rising
But very few of these things are actually covered in this documentary, except in passing. They spend nearly as much time on the events of 1960's Northern Ireland as they spend on the Irish War of Independence from 1919 to 1921. They are actually right to point out that more people died in this later conflict of the 1960's, than in the Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence combined. It also seems appropriate that they mentioned this later conflict as a relevant epilogue to their main story. Nonetheless, it would seem that the Irish War of Independence was far more important in a geopolitical sense, because it succeeded where the other rebellions had failed. It also had more proximity to the 1916 Easter Rising, and would also seem to be the most important effect of this prior event. Their absence of military coverage of the Anglo-Irish War thus failed to satisfy me, and they do not really mention any of the battles of that war – except, perhaps, for the very first one; where the hostilities initially broke out. But this may still be the definitive coverage of the 1916 Easter Rising, and would seem to be worth having on that score (at least, if you're a history buff like I am). If you don't expect the documentary to give any real coverage of the Anglo-Irish War, then you probably won't be too disappointed at what it leaves out there. It's extremely valuable for what it does cover, though, and belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in either Irish history, British history, or World War One more generally.
Footnote to this blog post:
There was also a new “Constitution of Ireland” in 1937. This replaced the prior “Constitution of the Irish Free State,” which was shaped by the “Anglo-Irish Treaty.” It said, specifically, that “The Constitution of Saorstát Éireann in force immediately prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution and the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act, 1922, in so far as that Act or any provision thereof is then in force shall be and are hereby repealed as on and from that date.” (Source: Section 48). It also affirmed that “Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state.” (Source: Section 5)
The legislature of Ireland (known as the Oireachtas) also changed the name of their country in 1948. They said simply that “It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland.” (Source: Republic of Ireland Act of 1948) The country is thus still called the “Republic of Ireland” to this day.
DVD at Amazon
If you liked this post, you might also like:
A review of Fergal Keane's “The Story of Ireland” (BBC Northern Ireland)
A review of “The Storm That Swept Mexico” (the “Great Revolution” of 1910)
A review of “The Great War” (1964 BBC miniseries about World War One)
Communism in Russia: How the madness got started (1917)
A review of “Paris 1919: Inside the Peace Talks That Changed the World”
Part of a series about
British military history
Korean War 1950-1953
Other wars to be covered later
Other wars to be covered later
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