Unearthing Easter in Laois: Provincializing the 1916 Easter Rising

Abstract

Unearthing Easter in Laois: Provincializing the 1916 Easter Rising Andrew Himmelberg Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Map of Laois, Easter 1916. Derived from “Island of Ireland location map Laois.svg” by Mabuska (https://commons.wiki-media.org/wiki/File:Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Laois.svg), licensed by Creative Commons (CCBY-SA 3.0). [End Page 114] Because of the general lack of diversity in written sources in the immediate aftermath of the Irish Revolution (1916–23), the narratives produced in the early years of the Irish state were narrowly focused. For accounts of the 1916 Easter Rising, this was especially true, as they were almost exclusively based on the narratives left by the leaders of the Dublin Rising.1 Because of a lack of adequate source material, the earliest accounts of the Rising centered around a few main areas of activity and the insurrection’s major participants, and provided little substantial account of the Rising beyond Dublin. However, over time, this narrative has broadened, as interest in the revolution on a national level increased and valuable source material became available to the public. Through such resources, the narrative of the revolution has expanded dramatically in recent years, as stories that faded from memory during the first half of the twentieth century resurface in new investigations. In particular, the Bureau of Military History witness statements and the Military Service Pensions Collection, through their wealth of firsthand accounts of the revolutionary period, have been instrumental in this process.2 Increasingly, historians are provincializing the Irish Revolution (and especially the Easter Rising) by unearthing stories of areas beyond Dublin and analyzing them in the context of the preexisting narrative, the goal being a more comprehensive understanding of the period as a whole.3 Ultimately, increased access to primary sources has enriched the narrative of the Irish Revolution by promoting [End Page 115] historical approaches that use these sources to uncover forgotten stories of the revolution. The Easter Rising in County Laois is one such story. Over the past hundred years, the story of Easter 1916 in Laois has been all but forgotten outside the county itself. The Bureau of Military History and the Military Service Pensions Collection unearths this fascinating story and further provincializes the Rising. The witness statements and pension applications of the Laois Volunteers contain accounts of events as remembered by these men roughly ten years (or more) after the fact. For this reason, inconsistencies should be expected among accounts. Interestingly, discrepancies in the Laois files are relatively few, and the degree of similarity among records dating between 1924 and 1956 suggests that the applicants may have shared a source.4 This account (referred to as the “Joint Statement” going forward) was supplied by all nine of the Laois men who applied for the 1934 Military Service Pensions Act.5 Thus, it may be that these men met sometime around the act’s passing to create an account of Easter in Laois. Based on textual similarities, it is also possible that those drafting the Joint Statement had access to an earlier statement filed by John Muldowney in 1924.6 Whether working from a common source or not, there was surprising consistency throughout the material. Nonetheless, the documents do sometimes disagree. What follows seeks to reconcile these accounts with each other—and other accounts—highlighting disagreements among them where relevant. A fairly cohesive narrative emerges, outlining the experiences of those whose county was (and is) largely seen as inactive during the revolution.7 Ultimately, the story of Laois and its revolutionaries is incredibly valuable and is just one instance of how increased access to adequate source material enriches the narrative of the Irish Revolution. [End Page 116] ________ In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a growing desire among Irish people to express a cultural identity—especially one that distinguished Ireland from Britain—sparked an expansion of nationalist groups, such as the Gaelic League, the Gaelic Athletic Association, and Sinn Féin. Around the same time, prominent republicans cooperated with a new generation of radicals to revive the struggling Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Indeed, the return of legendary Fenian Thomas Clarke to Ireland in 1907 “was a significant factor in the...