THE IRISH UPRISING OF EASTER 1916 AND THE EMERGENCE , , OF EAMON DE VALERA AS THE LEADER OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT i\ THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY BARBARA ANN LAMBERTH, B.S. DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST, 197 4 Texas Woman's University Denton, Texas ____J_u_n_e_26 .,_ 19 __7-1 __ _ We hereby recommend that the thesis prepared wider our supervision by Barbara Ann Lamberth "The Irish Uprising of Easter 1916 and entitled . �· � the Emergence of Eamon de Valera as the Leader of the Irish Republican Movement" be accepted as fulfilling this part of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. Committee: f\'ERSITY ,... .. ) \ ;) . TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE V CfLI\PTE R ., I. EAMON DE VALERA--THE STATESMAN . 1 II. DE VALERA--THE PRIVATE YEARS . 9 22 I I I. EASTER 1916--THE BLOOD SACRIFICE: THE PRELUDE IV. EASTER 1916--THE BLOOD SACRIFICE: MILITARY 56 ACTION . V. EASTER 1916--THE BLOOD SACRIFICE: FROM 92 DEFEAT TO VICTORY ... ........ 116 VI. DE VALERA--COMING TO LEADERSHIP .. 147 CONCLUSION APPENDIX 153 A. THE MANIFESTO OF THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS . 156 B. PROCLA MATION OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC .. • 158 c. MANIFESTO TO THE PEOPLE OF DUBLIN . 160 D. SPEECH OF DE VALERA .. , 163 E. THE MANIFESTO OF SINN FEIN F. THE TEXT OF THE SAME MANIFESTO AS PASSED BY THE DUBLIN CASTL� CENSOR • . .. � • .. 166 G. IRISH DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE . • .•169 , , 171 H. CONSTITUTION OF DAIL EIRANN • • 1 73 I. MESSAGE TO THE FREE NATIONS OF THE WORLD - . iii 1•06508 J. • . • 1 75 DEMOCRATIC PROGRAMME OF. D�IL �IRANN . • • 177 K. PRESIDENT DE VAL�RA'S SPEECH 179 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ... - iv - PREFACE During the period of time in which I have been en­ gaged in the preparation of this thesis I have frequently , been asked why I chose to write about Eamon de Valera and Ireland. Certainly in this day of tragic conflict in Northern Ireland, when almost daily the media brings news of destruction and violence, it is not difficult to explain one's interest in that tragedy-haunted island. T-0 understand the conflict of today it is necessary to look back over four centuries to see the development of the conditions which culminated in the partition of Ireland in 1921. This partition and the events of the ten years preceding it provide the immediate· backdrop for the events of today, and it is that period--a specific part of that period to be precise--which provides the basis for this study. I first became interested in the Easter Rising of 1916 some years ago when it formed part of the content of a course in which I was enrolled. When I began considering possible topics for a thesis, it did not take long for my thoughts to turn to Ireland. When I read my first biography of de Valera, that Irishman with the Spanish name�-to use a phrase sometimes applied to him--the matter of a topic was -V- settled. I found the story of de Valera, which is, of course, inseparable from that of the Irish Republic, to be completely fascinating. In deciding what aspect of this remarkable man to develop for a thesis it seemed reasonable to start with the beginning of his public involvement in the affairs of Ireland. Thus I have chosen to consider his emergence as the leader of Irish Republicanism and the Easter Rising which was the central event of the years immediately pre­ ceding the Partition. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Mrs. Mary Beth Chamberlin of the Inter-Library Loan Office of the Texas Woman's University Library for her generous help in l�cating some of the references not readily available, to the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Kemp Yarborough, Dr. John L. Dawson, and Dr. Val Belfiglio, for their kind assistance, and especially to my thesis chairman, Dr. Harral E. Landry. His generous help and criticism and his con­ tinuing encouragement and confidence are gratefully acknowledged. - vi - CHAPTER I I' I' EAMON DE VALERA--THE STATESMAN If any one man's name calls to mind Ireland in the twentieth century it must be that of Eamon de Valera, "father figure of the republic and symbol of Ireland's growth to nationhood."! This man's public career stretches from 1916 and the Easter Rising in Dublin to the present, as he pre­ pares to leave the presidency in June of 1973. When de Val�ra first assumed leadership of the Irish nationalist movement, Herbert Asquith was Prime Minister of Great Britain; Lenin was barely known outside academic circles; and leaders such as Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Charles De Gaulle were names of the future.2 De Val�ra has been and remains a puzzle to many people. He has stimulated comments and analyses of char­ acter as diverse and contradictory as the people who make them: "visionary or hard headed realist; unbelievably shrewd statesman or luckiest politician alive; agent of 1"Eamon de Valera Is Still Top Irishman," Valley Mo rn i ng St a r ( Har 1 i ngen , · Tex a s ), Feb r u ar y 7, 1 9 71 , sec. C, p. 8. 2Earl of Longford and Th·omas P. O'Neill, tamon de Valera (Dublin: Gill & MacMillan, 1970), pp. xix-xx. - 1 - - 2 - secret forces or author of a programme which he imposes upon those who have sought to make use of him."1 An Irish writer has recorded a ballad sung about him by children: Up de Valera, you're the champion of the right, We'll follow you to battle 'neath the orange, . green and white, And when next we meet the Sassennach, we'll beat him, Oh, we'll beat him in the fight-­ And make de Valera King of Ireland! 2 Desmond Ryan described de Valera as a "unique dictator" and said that circumstances and his nature made him one of the best of present day "dictators" in ideals, methods, and personality • . like Mussolini and Hitler he has in his time given lip-service to democracy and used the ballot to seize power and transform a machinery he distrusted to further his original programme; like them at their best, he expresses in himself deep national aspira­ tions and burning national grievances, and, like them, at their worst he thinks he knows better than his own people what is good for them: and if indi­ vidual freedom interferes with his sacred formulas so much the worse for individual freedom. But there the parallel ends. He is unique, and the best of the dictators in that alone of all the dictators can it be said of him that he himself is under the dictator­ ship of clear and cherished principles, consistent, unselfish, honest, his name unstained by a June Purge or a Matteoti. He has proved himself the most 1Deni_s Gwynn, de Valera (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1933), jacket and p. 14. 2 , , , , Sean O Faolain, The Life Story of Eamon de Valera (Dublin: Talbot Press Limited, 1933), p. 10. - 3 - astute living Irish politician, but his worst enemy will never prove him a party politician.1 In considering this judgment of de Valera it must be kept in mind that Ryan was writing in 1936, years before the full perfidy of Mussolini and Hitler was known to the world. Ryan went on to note that de Valera h�d been accused of " •.. being a 'Kerensky' before he came to power and a 'Lenin' afterwards .. of vanity, lack of humour, in­ humanity, duplicity and selfishness." But Ryan also notes that these charges were without exception false. Critics have been unable to answer the central question of de " Valera's impact on Ireland: • . why has this unpreten- tious, persistent, scrupulous, scholarly and courageous man retained the affection and trust of his people for over twenty years, and why even with his course unfinished has he achieved so much of his original aims?"2 The adjectives "unpretentious," "persistent," "scrupulous," "scholarly," and "courageous" are characteristic of those used by all of de Valera's biographers and these qualities seem to shine through in all accounts of his life and activities. 1Desmond Ryan, Unique Dictator: A Study of Eamon de Valera (London: Arthur Barker Limited, 1936), p. 10. It would also be well to note that Ryan did not appear in any way to intend the implication that de Valera was a dictator in actuality. The term appeared meant as a description of his personality and nature. 2 Ibid. , pp. 15-16. - 4 - Memories of two of de Valfra's six surviving chil­ dren are revealing of his character. His son Ruairi tells this story as repeated by Longford and O'Neill: .. • soon after Daddy came out of jail, one evening Daddy was having his tea and I was playing with toy soldiers on the floor. He took an empty egg shell and threw it at some of the soldiers, saying : 'There' s a she11 ". I said : "Daddy you hit the wrong soldiers--these are the Irish". He s ai d : " Who a re th e o th e r s ? ", an d I s ai d " t h e English". He said gently, "No, just call them the enemy". I think he did not want me to hate the English, or any other people. The enemy was impersonal.' 1 Another son, Eamonn, came to recognize his father's sensi- tivity during a serious illness of the elder de Valfra: 'Tears and laughter are very close to the surface .