On November 10th 1879 Pádraig Pearse was born in Dublin. Pearse is one of Irelands greatest patriots and was a leader of the Easter Rising after which he was executed by the British Army.
“There are in every generation those who shrink from the ultimate sacrifice, but there are in every generation those who make it with joy and laughter and these are the salt of the generations.” (Pádraig Pearse)
Pearse was ‘the salt of his generation’.
Pearse was a passionate exponent of the Irish Langauge and Culture and member of Conradh na Gaeilge. Pearse had a cottage in Ros Muc in Co Galway which I visited in the early 1970s, then a fairly modest affair with an Irish flag flying outside it, I believe it’s now the site of a visitor centre.
Pearse went on to found Scoil Éanna (St Enda’s School) in Dublin and I also visited this – a most memorable visit as part of a group at a Dublin Celtic League AGM many years ago.
As a member of the Irish Republican Brotherood:
“when the Easter Rising eventually began on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, it was Pearse who read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from outside the General Post Office, the headquarters of the Rising. Pearse was the person most responsible for drafting the Proclamation, and he was chosen as President of the Republic. After six days of fighting, heavy civilian casualties and great destruction of property, Pearse issued the order to surrender.
“Pearse and fourteen other leaders, including his brother Willie, were court-martialled and executed by firing squad. Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh and Pearse himself were the first of the rebels to be executed, on the morning of 3 May 1916. Pearse was 36 years old at the time of his death.”
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Pearse…
Bermard Moffatt
AGS Celtic League (10th November 2021)
