Heroes of the Irish Struggle for Independence Quiz

Answer: Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell was a Protestant, born into an old Anglo-Irish family in 1846. He became a member of Parliament in 1875, and by 1880 was chairman of the Home Rule League. Parnell renamed it the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and in 1885 the IPP won 85 of the 103 Irish seats in Parliament. Since neither the Liberal nor Conservative Parties had achieved a majority, Parnell held the balance of power. He managed to get a Home Rule Bill introduced in 1886, but it failed to pass by 30 votes in the House of Commons.

At the height of his power, Parnell's career was ruined when, on December 24, 1889, Captain William O'Shea filed for divorce from his wife, Katharine. The O'Sheas had been separated for many years, but he refused to seek a divorce because he expected her to inherit a fortune from her aunt. When the aunt died and the money he had been looking forward to was not forthcoming, he decided to end the marriage. By that time, Parnell and Mrs. O'Shea had been living together for almost a decade, and had three children. The divorce was granted on November 17, 1890.

The ensuing scandal split the Home Rule Movement into two factions, and Parnell lost many of his supporters. He and Katharine were married in a civil ceremony on June 25, 1891. Parnell continued to try to regain his former position of prominence, but his political career was finished. He became ill, and died October 6, 1891.

Answer: Patrick Pearse

Patrick Pearse (1879-1916) was the son of a Protestant English father and an Irish Catholic mother. He had a deep love for the Irish language, and started a school called St. Enda's near Dublin where classes were taught in both English and Gaelic. Pearse joined a military organization called the Irish Volunteers, and also the secret society called the Irish Republican Brotherhood. On April 24, 1916, about 1,200 members of the Irish Volunteers, along with 200 members of the Irish Citizen Army under the leadership of James Connolly, occupied a number of strategic positions in the city of Dublin. Pearse and his followers seized the General Post Office in Dublin and made it their headquarters. Pearse read a proclamation called the "Poblacht na hÉireann" on the steps of the Post Office, declaring Irish independence.

The British responded quickly, using all the military forces at their disposal to crush the rebellion. Six days of fierce fighting followed, during which much of central Dublin was destroyed. Following the surrender of the Irish forces on April 29, most of the Irish leaders were summarily executed by the British, including Pearse and his brother, Willie.

Answer: Cathal Brugha

Cathal Brugha (pronounced CAH-hal BROO-ah) was born Charles Burgess in 1874, to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother. In 1899 he joined the Gaelic League, and changed his name to the Irish form. Physically, he was a small man, but that is the only way he was small. No other figure of the struggle for Irish independence showed more courage or determination than Cathal Brugha. During the Easter Rebellion, he was second in command to Eamonn Ceannt at the South Dublin Union, where some of the fiercest fighting took place. Separated from his command, Brugha was found propped up against a wall in a pool of his own blood, singing "God Save Ireland" while he held off a large body of British troops with his pistol.

He was shot sixteen times, and suffered numerous shrapnel wounds from a hand grenade.

He was not executed because it was thought he had no chance to survive. He did recover, but suffered from a limp the rest of his life. It was said he had so many British bullets in him that he rattled when he walked. Brugha went on to serve as Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and Minister of Defense during the War of Independence. Brugha was the leading voice against ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and a bitter foe of Michael Collins, for whom he had little or no respect. Brugha was one of the first casualties of the Irish Civil War; he was cut down leading a charge against Free State troops on O'Connell Street in Dublin, and died on July 7, 1922.

The great Tom Barry described Brugha as a man of "incredible courage," and likened him to one of heroes of Irish mythology.

Answer: Eamon de Valera

Eamon de Valera was born in New York City on October 14, 1882. His father died when he was two years old, and he was sent to Ireland to be raised by his maternal grandparents. In 1913 he joined the Irish Volunteers, and a few years later was inducted into the Irish Republican Brotherhood. During the Easter Rebellion, de Valera was Commandant of the Third Battalion of Irish Volunteers, who held a strategic position at Boland's Mill. He was the last of the leaders of the Easter Rebellion to surrender. He would probably have been shot along with the other leaders if he had not been a natural born American citizen (one of the other leaders, Thomas Clarke, was a naturalized citizen). The British knew there was already widespread opposition to World War I in the United States, and they would have had no hope of defeating Germany without American aid. Although sentenced to life in prison, de Valera was released in June, 1917, and the following month was elected to Parliament. He was re-elected in 1918, and he and other Irish MPs formed their own legislative body, the Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland). De Valera was arrested again in May, 1918 but escaped from prison the following year, and became the head of the Irish government.

De Valera denied that his American birth had saved him from execution, but many contemporary accounts make this claim. It is known that his wife and other relatives lobbied the American consul in Dublin for commutation of his sentence. So the fact that he was born in the United States may or may not have accounted for his survival.

De Valera opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which had been negotiated by his Minister of Finance, Michael Collins. During the Irish Civil War (1922-23) de Valera was titular head of the the anti-Treaty forces, but took no part in the fighting. In 1926 he formed a new political party, Fianna Fáil (the Warriors of Destiny), and encouraged his followers to take their seats in the Dáil Éireann; anti-Treaty candidates had previously boycotted the assembly if they were elected. This, along with de Valera's reluctant acceptance of the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown, led many hard-liners to view him as a traitor to the Republican cause.

De Valera enjoyed a long and successful career in Irish politics, serving as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) on three separate occasions. He rewrote the Irish Constitution, and kept the country neutral during WWII. He turned against his old Irish Republican Army comrades, and interned many Republicans without trial. De Valera died in 1975. His legacy remains controversial to this day.

Answer: False

Women were always active in the Irish struggle for independence. In 1914, Republican women formed their own organization, the Cumman na mBan (pronounced CUHM-ahn nah MAHN), or Council of Women, which served as the women's auxiliary to the Irish Volunteers. It is estimated that over 100 Cumman na mBan members were "out" during the Easter Rebellion.

The most famous of these was probably Constance Gore-Booth, more commonly known as Countess Markievicz. She was born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family that had extensive landholdings in County Sligo. In 1900 she married Count Casimir Markievicz, a Polish aristocrat. Her only child was born a year later. She was friends with many of the Irish literary figures of the day, including William Butler Yeats, and became increasingly involved in the cause of Irish nationalism. She was arrested in 1911 for giving a speech opposing King George V's visit to Ireland, and was involved in smuggling arms into the country. During the Easter Rebellion she was second in command of the Irish Citizen Army contingent that occupied Stephen's Green, and admitted shooting a man in the head and killing him during the fighting there. Along with the other leaders of the rising she was tried and sentenced to death, but General John Maxwell commuted her sentence to life in prison "on account of the prisoner's sex." Markievicz is said to have replied, "I do wish your lot had the decency to shoot me."

Markievicz was released from prison in 1917, and went on to serve as Minister for Labor from 1919 to 1922, one of the first women in the history of Europe to hold cabinet rank. She was one of the most outspoken opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and was briefly imprisoned by the Free State government. She died in 1927 from appendicitis at the age of 59.

Answer: Dan Breen

Upon learning that a shipment of explosives would be transported from the military barracks at Tipperary Town to a stone quarry at Soloheadbeg sometime in mid-January, 1919, nine members of the Irish Republican Army's Third Tipperary Brigade decided to ambush it. They undertook the action without any official authorization, and acted on their own initiative, one of their objectives being to start a "shooting war." The ambush was successful, but the two Royal Irish Constabulary constables guarding the shipment were killed when they refused orders to surrender.

One of the leaders of the ambush was Dan Breen (1894-1969). He became the stuff of legend, continually inflicting damage on the occupying British forces despite being seriously wounded several times. The British offered a reward of £1,000, a huge sum of money at the time, for information leading to his arrest. He adamantly opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and was interned briefly by the Free State government, but was released after going on hunger strike. He later went into politics, and served in the Irish Dáil from 1932 until he retired in 1965. Breen wrote a book about his experiences called "My Fight for Irish Freedom."

Answer: Tom Barry

Tom Barry was born in County Kerry in 1897. In 1915, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the British Army, and saw service in Iraq and the Middle East during WWI. He settled in Bandon, County Cork, following the war. In July, 1920 two local men were captured by the British and severely tortured; one of them, Patrick Harte, later died of his injuries. This incident inspired Barry to enlist in the Third West Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. He put his military training to good use, and rose quickly through the ranks. Barry was instrumental in organizing the "flying column," a small band of highly mobile troops that would strike quickly, and then melt away into the countryside. On November 28, 1920, Barry's column ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries, an elite branch of the Royal Irish Constabulary, near Macroom in County Cork. The Auxies, as they were called, were infamous for the killing of innocent civilians, and for burning towns and villages. In what became known as "the Kilmichael Ambush," Barry's men killed 17 of the 18 Auxies; one badly wounded man survived. In 1921, Barry's force of 104 men was surrounded by 1,300 British troops at Crossbarry, County Cork. Barry led his men to safety, losing three killed and three wounded, while killing ten British soldiers and wounding forty.

Barry, like most IRA leaders outside of Dublin, fought on the anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War. He realized early on that the Republicans stood no chance against the Free State Army, and argued for a truce. Unlike many other leaders, Barry remained a die-hard Republican and IRA member his entire life. He wrote a stirring account of his actions in the War of independence and the Irish Civil War called "Guerilla Days in Ireland." Tom Barry died in 1980.

Answer: Kevin Barry

Kevin Gerard Barry was born in Dublin in 1902, and joined the Irish Republican Army when he was only 15 years old. On September 20, 1920 he was part of an operation to ambush a British Army truck when it made its daily run to pick up bread from a Dublin bakery. The objective was not to kill the soldiers, but to seize their weapons. When the IRA ambush squad demanded the British troops lay down their rifles, some complied, but a shot rang out, and soon there was a full-fledged gunfight, during which one British soldier was killed and four wounded (two of the wounded later died of their wounds). Three IRA men were also wounded. Barry's weapon, a .38 caliber pistol, jammed twice, and he sought shelter beside the truck. When the shooting stopped, he realized that his comrades had left the scene. Barry rolled under the truck to hide, and might have escaped when it drove away if a woman at the scene had not seen him and informed the soldiers of his presence.

Barry was arrested and taken to the North Dublin Union Barracks, where he was tortured by members of the Lancashire Fusiliers; he was threatened with a bayonet, and was stomped on, and had his right arm twisted almost out of its socket. Barry refused to give any information to his captors. They then offered to release him if he would turn informer and name the other members of the IRA ambush party. Barry again refused.

On October 20, 1920, Barry was tried by a military court-martial. He, like all IRA members, refused to recognize the authority of the court, and refused to enter a plea. A guilty verdict and a death sentence were foregone conclusions. Barry's one request was that he be "shot like a soldier," rather than hanged. This request was denied, and he was hanged on November 1, 1920, in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin. Barry's execution shocked many people and helped to turn public opinion against the British. No one knows who wrote the song that keeps Barry's name alive to this day.

Answer: Rory O'Connor

Rory O'Connor was born in Dublin in 1883. He was wounded during the Easter Rising and served as the Irish Republican Army's Director of Engineering during the War of Independence. He, like most IRA leaders outside of Dublin, was opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty. After the treaty was approved by a vote of 64-57 in the Dáil Éireann, or Irish Parliament, O'Connor and other anti-Treaty IRA leaders met in Dublin and declared that the Dáil had no authority to ratify a treaty that did not establish an Irish Republic. In April, 1922, O'Connor and 200 followers occupied the Four Courts, a large building in central Dublin.

An uneasy truce prevailed between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty forces until June 22, 1922, when Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson was killed in London by two former IRA members. British authorities wrongly assumed they had been sent by anti-Treaty forces, and ordered Michael Collins to evict O'Connor and his followers from the Four Courts, or face a British invasion. Collins actually had to beg British authorities for artillery to use against the Four Courts. After a week long battle, O'Connor surrendered to Free State forces, and was immediately thrown in jail.

On October 18, 1922, the Free State enacted a statute called "the Public Safety Law." It authorized the arrest and execution of anyone found possessing a firearm or even a single bullet, or writing "seditious publications." Persons arrested under the law were to be tried by military tribunals, not civilian courts. The first of many executions under the act took place on November 17, 1922. Outraged at what he called "the Murder Bill," IRA Chief of Staff Liam Lynch authorized the killing of any member of the Dáil who had voted for its passage.

On December 7, 1922, pro-Treaty politician Sean Hales was assassinated in Dublin. The next day O'Connor, along with three other prisoners - Liam Mellows, Richard Barrett, and Joe McKelvey - were executed by the Free State government without a trial or hearing of any kind. Their executions were patently illegal, since all had been captured at the Four Courts and had been in prison when the Public Safety Law had been passed.

O'Connor and his comrades quickly became martyrs for the Republican cause. They are mentioned in a popular song of the day called "Take It Down From the Mast": "You have murdered our brave Liam and Rory, you have butchered young Richard and Joe / Your hands with their blood are still gory, from doing the work of the foe."

Answer: Terence MacSwiney

Shortly after midnight on the morning of March 20, 1920, seven members of the Royal Irish Constabulary broke into the house of Thomas MacCurtain, the Lord Mayor of Cork, and shot him dead in front of his wife and young children. MacCurtain was active in Republican affairs, and in addition to being Lord Mayor of Cork, was Commandant of the First Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army at the time of his death. It is believed he was killed in retaliation for the death of an Royal Irish Constabulary official the previous day.

MacCurtain's close friend, Terence MacSwiney, was elected to take his place as Lord Mayor of Cork. MacSwiney was known as a poet and a playwright, and his writings resulted in his being arrested and imprisoned several times by British authorities in 1916 and 1917. MacSwiney maintained close ties with the Irish Republican Army; on August 12, 1920, he was arrested under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act, which basically allowed the military to arrest and try persons on a wide variety of charges. MacSwiney was found guilty of the possession of "seditious articles and documents," and the key to a British military code. On August 16 he was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and was sent to Brixton Prison in London.

MacSwiney refused to recognise the authority of the military court. After his sentence was read out, MacSwiney informed the court that he had taken no food since his arrest, and said: "I will put a limit to any term of imprisonment you may impose. I have decided the terms of my detention whatever your government may do. I shall be free, alive or dead, within a month." MacSwiney's hunger strike drew worldwide attention, and sparked protests around the globe. Dozens of world leaders petitioned the British government for clemency, to no avail. Terence MacSwiney managed to survive for an incredible 74 days, one of the longest hunger strikes on record, before passing away on October 25, 1920.

After his death, a collection of MacSwiney's writings called "Principles of Freedom" was published in 1921. It was to influence many people in the coming years, especially in India, which was conducting its own struggle for independence. One of MacSwiney's most famous sayings was: "Victory will go, not to those who can inflict the most, but to those who can endure the most."