Holding a Dublin Street Against the Rebels 
Note the incorrect month: the Rebellion took place in April, not May. This picture is identified in Winding the Clock: O'Rahilly and the 1916 Rising (Aodogán O'Rahilly) as the barricade at the end of Moore Street which Rebel Leader Michael O'Rahilly was trying to storm when he was fatally wounded. The shop on the corner is Number 57 'Simpson & Wallace'.

Liberty Hall, Dublin, the Rebel Headquarters, after the storming 
Liberty Hall was the Head Office of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union. Labour leader James Connolly was General Secretary of the Union, and also Commander of the Irish Citizen Army which joined with the Irish Volunteers in the uprising. Although committed to the rising, and a signer of the Easter Proclamation, Connolly was a realist. Leaving Liberty Hall with his troops he remarked to William O'Brien, 'We are going out to be slaughtered.' Connolly's ankle was shattered by gunshot and after the Rebel surrender, he was executed at Kilmainham jail. His injuries were so severe that he had to be carried out to the stonebreakers yard on a stretcher, and strapped to a chair to face the firing squad.

Mount Street Bridge 
Over half of the deaths and injuries of the Easter Uprising happened at this innocent-looking site. British reinforcements had arrived from England via Kingstown Harbour on Wednesday morning. Proceeding in good spirits towards the city centre from Northumberland Road, they met with devasting Rebel sniper fire as they attempted to cross the bridge. The British thought they were facing several hundred Rebels; in fact it was only 17 men in strategic locations. Although other options were available to them, the British officer in charge, Colonel Fane, gave orders for a direct charge. Not until 7 o'clock in the evening did they make it through and by that time 230 British soldiers were dead or wounded.

Sackville Street in Flames. A photograph taken by a "Daily Sketch" Photographer under fire. 
Another incorrectly dated card; the Rising was in April rather than May. The civilian population was horrified at the blazing fires and destruction and held the Rebels responsible for the devastation of central Dublin. Public opinion turned from disgust to sympathy, however, as the British slowly executed the leaders one by one at Kilmainham Jail.



The Sinn Fein Revolt in Dublin
Interior of the ruined main sorting room in the post office 
The General Post Office (GPO) on Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) in Dublin was the scene of much of the drama of the Easter Rebellion. The Easter Proclamation was read from its steps, and leaders Patrick Pearse, Tom Clarke and James Connolly managed affairs from inside the large building until widespread fire forced their retreat and ultimate surrender.

O'Connell Bridge and Quays Dublin
(Before and After "Sinn Fein Rebellion") 
In the top photo we can see the statue of Daniel O'Connell presiding over the north side of the bridge; below the same buildings along the quays, now destroyed by bombs and widespread fire.



After the Insurrection - Interior General Post Office Dublin 

British soldiers survey the damage inside the GPO. The remains of a bicycle can be seen in the foreground.



Sinn Fein Rebellion 1916
Corner of Sackville Street, Dublin 

Onlookers gather to view the incredible scenes of destruction in the very centre of Dublin. (The Rebels had wondered whether the British would actually bomb a British city and destroy property in an attempt to quell the rising...) This shot was taken from O'Connell Bridge looking north.

Sackville Street, Dublin (Earl Street Corner) after the bombardment. 

The Easter Rebellion left the centre of Dublin devastated. Many structures damaged by bombs and fire needed to be demolished to make way for the subsequent rebuilding.



The General Post Office Dublin (Rebel Headquarters) destroyed 

The Rebel leaders used the GPO as their central command, flying their own flags from the rooftop masts.



The wreck they made of Church Street Dublin 

British soldiers look through the debris, watched by an interested crowd of local women and children.



Ruined Sackville Street, Dublin, barricaded with Motor Cars. 

Remains of several cars and scattered wash baskets are all that's left of this makeshift barricade. The sign on the building is for 'Freeman Telegraph'.



Sinn Fein Rebellion
Corner of Sackville Street, Dublin. Before and After 

In the bottom picture Dubliners stand on O'Connell Bridge surveying the devastation from the events of Easter Week. Their initial dismay and disgust with the Rebels turned to sympathy as the British executed the leaders one by one over a period of days.

Searching a hay-cart for Rebels or Ammunition. 
A British soldier does his duty.



Kilmainham Jail, Main Entrance 
14 leaders of the Easter 1916 Rebellion were executed in the Stonebreakers Yard at Kilmainham. The prison was closed in 1924. It is now a museum open to the public.
Wednesday, 3 May: Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Tom Clarke
Thursday, 4 May: Josephh Plunkett (who had married his sweetheart Grace Gifford only a few hours earlier in the dimly lit Kilmainham Chapel), Willie Pearse, Edward Daly and Michael O'Hanrahan
Friday, 5 May: John McBride
Monday, 8 May: Seán Heuston, Michael Mallin, Cornelious Colbert and Eamonn Ceannt
Friday, 12 May: Seán MacDiarmada and James Connolly