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The Easter Rising of 1916 has come to symbolize the birth of the Republican
movement. The revolutionary philosophy underlying this Proclamation is
reflected in contemporary Republican ideology.
Here is the Proclamation which Padraig Pearse read aloud from the steps of the
Dublin General Post Office following the rebels' assault on Easter Monday,
April 24, 1916. (Also, view the Proclamation as it looked originally - printed
on broadside paper and passed out among Irish Republican rebels that day.)
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Adams spent four years in Long Kesh prison and from 'Cage 11' where he was
held, he wrote a series of articles and columns which were smuggled out and
published pseudonymously. Here's a selection of these writings.
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Sands began his hunger strike on March 1st and died on May 5th, 1981. He
recorded the beginning of his hunger strike in this diary which he kept for the
first 17 days.
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This excerpt from Peter Taylor's book Families at War is a portrait of
the McKearneys. Three of the four sons joined the IRA to fight "for equality on the
island of Ireland." Two were killed and the third, Tommy, spent 19
years in prison. Tommy was interviewed in FRONTLINE's "Behind
the Mask-The IRA and Sinn Fein."
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Following the 1981 hunger strikes, recruits flocked to the IRA; it needed more
arms, especially heavy weaponry, to take on the British army. The IRA thought
if it could shoot down British helicopters it could be well on its way to
winning the 'war.' So the IRA came to the U.S. looking to buy missiles.
Here's an inside look at the IRA gunrunners, their mission, and what happened.
(From Peter Taylor's 1997 book Behind the Mask: The IRA and Sinn Fein.)
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This excerpt from Padraig O'Malley's The Uncivil Wars: Ireland Today
is a good primer on the basics of Northern Ireland's tragic conflict and
why it has endured for so long.
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home .
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New Content Copyright © 1998 PBS and WGBH/Frontline
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