When a man chooses to
surrender, how he behaves as he submits to the victor is just as important as
how bravely he fought. This was especially
true nearly one hundred years ago when Patrick Pearse out of love for his countrymen
had to do what was likely the most difficult task of his life-sign the
surrender order which ordered the subordinate commandants to lay down their arms,
which ended the Easter Rising of 1916.
One can only imagine the giant lump in the throat of Commandant of the
Irish Republican Army, General Patrick Pearse felt that afternoon on April 29,
1916.
Just prior to his signing
this order, Pearse along with a brave young nurse named Elizabeth O’Farrell
gallantly with their heads still held high strode up the confluence of Moore
Street and Parnell Street ready to surrender to Brigadier General (BG) WilliamMuir Lowe, commander of the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Brigade. Like the gentleman he was, Pearse handed over
his automatic pistol in its holster, with a pouch of ammunition, and his
canteen, which contain two large onions to Major de Courcy Wheeler, Staff
Captain to BG Lowe. BG Lowe took charge
of Pearse’s sword, the symbol of accepting the surrender of his conquered
foe.
The type of conduct that
Pearse displayed became essential for the Irish separatist movement. These actions of pride, dignity, and
discipline became the cornerstone of the Irish Free State. If he had been a coward, or continued to
fight, it is doubtful that his legacy would have continued as it did. Instead, though, his countrymen heralded him for
his noble deeds and this inspired others who would later rise and fight. Men such as Eamonn de Valera and Michael Collins would become leaders in the Irish War for Independence three years
later.
Once he received the
order of surrender from Pearse order, Seán MacDermott in Moore Street read it
to his men. The subordinate leaders
filed the troops into Moore Street with their arms and ammunition. The rebels submitted to an order by the British
to throw down their arms and ammunition in a pile on the road. Many of the insurgents ensured that they
rendered their weapons useless before laying them down, lest they be used
against them. Additionally, the British soldiers
ordered the prisoners to empty their pockets and submit their names. Frank Henderson, who was a Captain in F
Company, 2nd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, Irish Volunteers recalled in
a witness statement made to the Bureau of Military History, Department of
Defense of Ireland:
[Joseph]Plunkett
was ordered to step forward from the ranks, and he was ignominiously
searched. He had his Will in his pocket,
and the British officer passed some very rude remarks about Plunkett's courage,
asking him was he making his Will because he was afraid he would die. I remarked at the time that Joseph Plunkett
paid not the slightest heed to what this British officer said to him. He had been talking to us in the ranks before
the incident about the rising generally, its effect, and about some steps he
had taken in regard to publicity in foreign lands. When he had been maltreated by this officer,
he stepped back into the ranks and resumed his conversation exactly where he
had left off.[1]
The British marched their prisoners over to the
green plot inside the railings of the Rotunda Hospital, in front of the main
entrance.
Commandant of this group,
Ned Daly arrived with his group of rebels from the Garrison of Four Quarters
area. Daly’s men were still in
possession of their weapons. Upon seeing
this, Lowe commanded de Courcy Wheeler to order the men to surrender their
arms. In anticipation of this order,
Daly moved forward and with great military composure gave the command for his
men to relinquish their arms. Without an
utterance of protest, his men complied with the directive. Historian Tim Pat Coogan writes of these
events, that the men obeyed him smartly and de Courcy Wheeler was so impressed
that he exchanged salutes with Daly.
Watching his aide salute, Lowe exclaimed “God! Saluting a rebel!”[2]
These men were by no
means the only brave man on the island.
Countless others behaved with equal dignity and honor, which represents
Irish manhood. Another example are the
men at Jacob’s Bakery who were led by Thomas MacDonagh. MacDonagh surrendered to Second Lieutenant
William Evelyn Wylie then Assistant Provost Marshal. The Jacob’s Bakery garrison consisted of
about 120 rebels.[3] The first time Wylie saw MacDonagh was as the
insurgents marched down the street to Wylie’s location, with MacDonagh and John McBride in the lead. The revolutionaries
lined up, their names and ranks taken, and weapons recorded.
An eyewitness of the
rebel’s behavior stated that the rebels “held themselves erect, and looked
absolutely defiant”. Of their actions,
Historian Fearghal McGarry notes, “The Rising ended with the same emphasis on
dignified, conventional military behavior that characterized it throughout, a
mindset that reflected their internalization of their opponents’ cultural
values”.[4] This conduct became essential for the Irish
separatist movement. These actions of pride,
dignity, and discipline would one day become the cornerstone of the Republic of Ireland. The people who witnessed the
conquered insurgents remembered the way they represented themselves, their
cause, and their country. These
onlookers carried that memory with them through the years of hardship and
struggle against the British occupying forces.
This memory had the influence to produce public sympathy, which viewed
them more as gallant victims of the iniquitous British than as frenzied agents
of ferocity.
A man who surrenders is
not necessarily a defeated man. The
people of Ireland saw how the rebels carried their heads high even though at
the time only a quarter of the people in Dublin agreed with the rebellion. Soon more and more people saw either through
the behavior of the prisoners or the injustices the suffered at the hands of
their captors and the dignity they maintained should belong not only to them
but also to all the people of Ireland. The
sense of worth these daring men and women reintroduced to the island would one
day set ablaze a ferocious fire in the souls of the Irish people. This blaze would become the raging inferno
that would reduce to ashes the bonds of British oppression. The proof of this is the Irish War of Independence that would soon follow three years later.
[1]
Frank Henderson. Statement from Witness, Document No. WS 249, Bureau of
Military History, 1913-21, May 6, 1949.
[2]
Tim Pat Coogan, 1916: The Easter Rising (London:
Phoenix, 2001), 139.
[3]
Leon O' Broin, W.E. Wylie and the Irish Revolution 1916-1921 (Dublin: Gill and
MacMillan Ltd., 1989), p. 19.
[4]
Fearghal McGarry. The Rising Ireland:
Easter 1916 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 251.
