Leaders Executed

Easter Rising leaders executed by firing squad

The British reacted quickly to crush the Easter Rising and then moved just as quickly to punish those who had dared to take part.

From an Irish nationalist point of view, the rebels were freedom fighters engaged in a just campaign to gain independence for their country.

From a British loyalist point of view, they were traitors who had tried to overthrow a lawful government.

British Government declared martial law in Ireland

On April 26, at the height of the Easter Rising, the British Government declared martial law in Ireland and appointed Major-General Sir John Maxwell as Commander-in-Chief.

Martial law gave Maxwell the power to try the rebels in military courts and impose the death penalty. It was a power that Maxwell was only too willing to use.

He didn’t just want to crush the rebellion; he wanted to extinguish any remaining flicker of Irish nationalism. He felt the best way to do that was by fear. He wanted the Irish to know they faced the full weight of British force if they stepped out of line again.

More than 3,000 Irish citizens arrested and jailed

Maxwell ordered the arrest of more than 3,400 men and 79 women who were suspected of being involved in the Easter Rising. More than 1,800 were sent to internment centres in England.

However, the harshest treatment was reserved for those who had organised the rebellion. A total of 190 men and one woman were tried by military courts. The verdict in 90 of the cases was execution by firing squad.

Maxwell had the final say. He confirmed the death penalty in 15 cases, including all of the men who had signed the Proclamation read out at the General Post Office by Patrick Pearse, declaring the arrival of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ireland.

The 15 men were executed by firing squads between May 3rd and 12th in 1916, only a few weeks after the Easter Rising took place.

Eamon de Valera and Countess Markievicz escape death

Countess Markiewicz

Two of those who were spared by Maxwell were the Eamon de Valera and the Countess Markievicz – even though they had both played a major part in the insurrection.

The Countess escaped the firing squad because it was considered to be wrong to shoot a woman.

The British felt they could not execute de Valera because he was an American citizen. He was born in New York to an Irish mother and a Spanish father. De Valera would later become President of Ireland once independence was established.