JOHN BRUTON thinks the 1916 Rising should never have happened and that John Redmond should be revered. If Redmond had acted differently in 1914, this might very well have been the outcome. He could have stuck to his original call for the Irish Volunteers to remain in Ireland in defence of their country. But Redmond had long since sold his political soul to British imperialism and so he became a recruiting sergeant, leading thousands of Irishmen to their deaths in the senseless slaughter that was the First World War. Premium service article

IT HAS BEEN estimated that some 75 women who were members of Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army served in the GPO garrison during Easter Week 1916. When most were evacuated after the building caught fire, only three remained – Elizabeth O’Farrell, Winifred Carney and, perhaps the least well known of the three, Julia Grenan. Premium service article

Attend your local Easter commemoration | Téigh chun do chumhneachán Cásca áitiúl Free article