Famous Irish men

You usually walk through O’Connell Street, take the bus in Pearse Street, maybe you are attending the Griffith College. But do you really know who O’Connell, Pears or Griffith are?

During the long Easter Rising weekend people could enjoy a lot of events scheduled along the most fascinating places of the city. You could watch the parade and, if you were very lucky, you could greet President Higgins. They were lovely days for sure, but are you sure to get the real meaning of the ceremony?

Let’s start to say something about the men that made possible the glorious Easter Rising in 1916!

Pedraìg Pearse (Patrick Henry Pearse) was an Irish teacher, a poet, a writer and one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. This eclectic man was the chief of Irish volunteers. He was the spokesman of the revolution,  and it was also him who read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from  the General Post Office. Executed at the end of Rising, he became one of the most iconic symbols of the revolution! Pearse Street and Pearse Square were renamed in his honor in 1926. If you are interested in Pedraìg Pearse’s life I suggest you to visit the Pearse Museum, located in Rathfarnham.  

Séamas Ó Conghaile (James Connolly) was one of the most important leaders of the Irish Citizen Army. James was born in Scotland and he took part in the political life in Scotland and in the USA too. This young prodigy left school at 11 but he was one of the main proponents of Marx theory of his time! He was executed too after the defeat of the Rising.

Art Ó Gríobhtha (Arthur Griffith). His name is strictly linked with the name of Sinn Fein Party. He founded it in 1905 and he became the leader of this. He was described by British and Irish media both as the “Sinn Féin rebellion”.  

You can’t walk through Dublin’s street without think about these great men…