Two-Column Notes

Date:

Name: Jamie Fletcher

Class/Subject:
EDTL 6940

6/7

Page #

296

297

307-310

Topic or Chapter
The Course of Irish History: Chapter 19- Parnel to Pierce
Easter Rising and Easter Rebellion
The Text Says
I Say
Notes (key concepts, direct quotes,
My notes, commentary
etc.)
By giving up our native language and
customs, said Hyde, we had thrown
away the best claim which we had
upon the worlds recognition of us as a
separate nation.
The Gaelic League was demonstrating
that Ireland was a cultural nation;
therefore, went the argument, Ireland
was entitled to become a nationstate.

It was not so much the rebellion of

Easter Week that completed the
change in the attitude of the Irish
people generally as its aftermath.

This got me thinking, if native languages

and customs provide reason for a separate
nation, what argument did early America
have for its own resistance to the British?
Its so interesting to see that before the
politics (which I know everything is
political) come into it, the Gaelic League
had such an influence just by promoting
their language, sports, dance and culture
and that an argument for Ireland
becoming a nation-state. Yeats truly
believed that by restoring the Irish culture,
he could rid the British influence in Ireland.
A lot of times you can tell the character of
a person based on their reaction to an
event instead of the event itself. For
example if someone is gossiping about
you do you ignore it? Retaliate? Confront
them peacefully? Violently? The Easter
Rising itself didnt have a large amount of
support. It was the way the Irish

It was a struggle characterized by

guerilla warfare, ambushes, raids on
police barracks, and planned
assassinations on the one side; and
terrorising on the other, as the flyingcolumns of the Volunteers took on the
black-and-tans and Auxiliaries of the
British.
312

In Ireland none of the dreams had

been fulfilled.

www.theguardian
.com

Is it over yet?

parliamentary party reacted to the events

that left a sour taste in the mouths of the
Irish people.
I remembered that Dr. Murnen told us not
to order a black-and-tan at the bar
because it was what the British soldiers
were called because of the way their
uniforms looked. When I was talking to an
older guy at the bar, he also referred to
the British as Black-and-tans. Its different
since I always pictured British wearing red
uniforms because they were redcoats in
our history stories.
I think that this is an important point to
make. Not one person got what they
wanted and in essence none of the dreams
had been fulfilled. In some ways, everyone
lost, but in other ways everyone got a little
piece of something that they wanted for
Ireland. The text that followed this quote
explained it well.
This is a question that cant be answered.
Will it ever be over? Will people get over it
eventually? How long will it take? I dont
know enough to say how long it took the
United States to get over it but I would
definitely agree with William when he told
us to give it AT LEAST 100 years to start
moving on. In talks with people that I met
during the trip, it seemed like a lot of the
younger generation made comments
about their parents are still holding on to
this stuff, but they didnt care. Will it only
take one more generation for it to finally

www.theguardian
.com

History.com

History.com

Connections to
previous reading
(s)

be over?
This is a real interesting point and one that
you must be cautious about. If terrorists
today acted as those Irishmen did during
the Easter Rising, would we consider them
to be triumphant revolutionaries? How do
we make sure that they dont?
Initially, there was littler support from These two quotes discuss how there was
the Irish people for the Easter Rising;
initially littler support for the Rising. As I
however, public opinion later shifted
mentioned before the support came
and the executed leaders were hailed
afterwards when the government didnt
as martyrs.
know how to react. It would have been
The rush executions, mass arrests and interesting to see what would have
happened if the government acted
martial law, fueled public resentment
toward the British and were among the differently. If there were trials instead of
executions, would they have gotten the
factors that helped build support for
same support? Would the Irish turn their
the rebels and the movement for Irish
back in such numbers against the British?
independence
Would the end of the troubles come so
fast?
Each of these articles focused on the Easter Rising. While the chapter out of The
Course of Irish History went much more in depth, they all seemed to highlight some
key aspects of the Rising. However, the guardian website seemed to put a spin on
martyrs that the other two articles didnt touch on which is the quote I typed above
about yesterdays terrorists being todays martyrs. This quote put an interesting
perspective on the Rising and made me question my own decision to support the
Rising. Am I supporting past day terrorists and would I therefore support present
day terrorists as well? It seemed like the history.com website focused a deal on the
lack of support the Rising initially had and the Course of Irish History talked more
about the cultural need for an independent state.
yesterdays terrorists will be todays
martyrs and tomorrows triumphant
revolutionaries.