Irish Volunteer forces assumed control of Enniscorthy on the Thursday morning (27th April 1916) and before the weekend extended their influence to the entire northern half of the county. The control lasted until the following Monday (1st May) when Enniscorthy was the last area to surrender in the country.
It was little wonder that the spirit of 1798, nurtured by folk memories and oral tradition and kept alive by the Young Irelanders and the Fenians should be re-awakened at the foot of Vinegar Hill. The Rising in County Wexford and in Enniscorthy in particular during Easter Week 1916 was the most important contribution to the Rising outside Dublin.
On Thursday morning (27th April) some 150 Volunteers assembled outside the arms depot at Keegan’s house in Irish Street and formed under Vice-Commandant P.P. Galligan, marched up Irish Street, through the Market Square and took possession of the Athenaeum and set up headquarters there. The Proclamation of the Irish Republic was read and posted on the Market House by the Brigade Adjutant, Séamus Doyle. The Tricolour was hoisted over the Athenaeum and was saluted by a firing party under the command of Galligan. The only tricolour flag which appears to have been flown outside Dublin was that which was hoisted over the Athenaeum in Enniscorthy.
Word came through to the Enniscorthy leaders that the Rising in Dublin was over as Pearse and the other leaders had surrendered on Saturday, 29th April. The Headquarters Staff in Enniscorthy would only give up their positions on the direct orders of Pearse.
On Sunday, 30th April, Séamus Doyle and Seán Etchingham travelled to Dublin with a British military escort to meet Pearse in his prison cell where Pearse wrote out the order of surrender. They arrived back that evening from Dublin and the order to surrender was promulgated at midnight.
At noon, on Monday, 1st May, 2,000 Crown forces entered Enniscorthy.
In all 375 persons were arrested in County Wexford and the vast majority of them ended up in various jails in England. The English prison system was unable to cope with the detainees from Ireland and eventually most of the prisoners, including the Wexford men, were moved to an internment camp at Frongoch, a prison camp in north Wales within the walls of an old whiskey distillery.
The course taken by the Rising in Enniscorthy was much influenced by the leaders on both sides. Lieutenant-General G.A. French, commander of the British troops in County Wexford was an experienced officer with a distinguished record. His adroit handling of the situation was a major factor in preventing a calamitous loss of life.
The leaders of the Rising in Enniscorthy were Robert Brennan, Séamus Doyle, Séamus Rafter, Michael de Lacey, Peter P. Galligan, Richard F. King and Seán Etchingham. They were men of stature and some of them were to play leading roles in the county and country – Robert Brennan became Irish Ambassador to the United States of America, T.D. Sinnott became Wexford’s first County Manager and Micheál Kehoe, leader of the Fianna Éireann contingent, went on to serve as President of the G.A.A., and Seán Etchingham was elected a Sinn Féin T.D. in the 1918 General Election and was appointed to the Government as Secretary of Fisheries. All the Enniscorthy leaders were sentenced to death. The death sentences were later commuted.
In County Wexford, after the Rising, the swing in public opinion was clearly seen in the results of the General Election of 1918 to the Parliament in Westminster when the two Irish Parliamentary Party MPs, Peter French and Thomas Esmonde were replaced by two Sinn Féin MPs, Jim Ryan and Roger Sweetman.
The Rising of Easter Week marked a crucial turning point in Irish history. Before the Rising, Home Rule had been enshrined in law but the world had changed with the Great War. The Rising and the executions of the leaders had a major impact on public opinion and led ultimately to the victory of Republican ideas and to the demand for a separate, independent Irish State. That was the real victory won in apparent defeat by the men and women of 1916.
The Commemoration in Wexford
Wexford County Council is leading and coordinating the County Wexford programme for the Commemoration of the Centenary of the 1916 Rising. Our plans for the commemoration of 1916 in County Wexford follow the seven strands of the national 2016 programme as follows: Ceremonial, Historical Reflection, An Teanga Bheo - The Living Language, Youth and Imagination, Cultural Expression, Community Participation, and Global and Diaspora.
County Wexford has a proud tradition of annually commemorating the 1916 Rising with an event in Enniscorthy every Easter Monday. The Centenary Programme will be a year-long programme commencing in 2015 and continuing throughout 2016. The core programme of events is outlined in this document and will be supplemented by a range of local community based events.
The County Wexford 1916 centenary commemorative events can be accessed on our dedicated 1916 website www.enniscorthy1916.ie
In early 2015 we held public consultation workshops with the general public seeking their input into the range and type of projects and events that should be in our centenary commemorations. It was strongly outlined at these workshops that our programme should be solemn, inclusive, reflective and inspiring to our youth and this has become the main theme and aspiration of the programme.
The highlights of our programme include a range of ceremonial events, historical lectures, conferences and literary publication on various aspects of 1916, County Wexford schools pack, County Wexford 1916 exhibition, a range of concerts, film recordings, 1916 themed song and poetry compilation, the dedication of a memorial garden, restoration of The Athenaeum and of course our annual Easter Monday Celebration in Enniscorthy, which in 2016 will form part of a select national wreath laying ceremony, followed by Ireland’s largest 1916 based battle re-enactment.
The County Wexford 1916 Centenary Commemorative Programme aims to be respectful of the past and inspiring for the future. Let us proudly commemorate the 1916 Rising with a complete absence of misgivings.
Ghlac fórsaí Óglaigh na hÉireann smacht ar Inis Córthaidh maidin Déardaoin (an 27 Aibreán 1916) agus roimh an deireadh seachtaine bhí a dtionchar le brath sa leath ó thuaidh den chontae. Leanadh den smacht go dtí an Luan ina dhiaidh sin (an 1 Bealtaine) agus bhí Inis Córthaidh an t-am sin ar cheann de na ceantair dheiridh sa tír a ghéill.
Níorbh aon iontas é go ndearnadh spiorad 1798, a cothaíodh ó chuimhní cinn an bhéaloidis agus ó sheanchas na ndaoine agus a bhí coinnithe beo ag na hÉireannaigh Óga agus na Fíníní, a athmhúscailt ag bun Chnoc Fhiodh na gCaor. Bhí an tÉirí Amach i gContae Loch Garman agus in Inis Córthaidh go háirithe le linn Sheachtain na Cásca 1916 ar an eachtra ba thábhachtaí a tharla chomh fada is a bhain sé leis an Éirí Amach lasmuigh de Bhaile Átha Cliath.
Maidin Déardaoin (an 27 Aibreán) bhailigh thart ar 150 ball d’Óglaigh na hÉireann lasmuigh den íosta airm ag teach Keegan ar Shráid na nGael agus tháinig siad le chéile faoi cheannas an Leas-Cheannfoirt P.P. Galligan, mháirseáil siad suas Sráid na nGael, trí Shráid an Mhargaidh agus ghlac siad seilbh ar an Athenaeum agus shocraigh siad a gceanncheathrú ann. Léadh Forógra na Poblachta agus chroch an tAidiúnach Briogáide, Séamus Doyle, ar Theach an Mhargaidh é. Cuireadh an Bhratach Thrídhathach in airde ar an Athenaeum agus rinne meitheal lámhaigh cúirtéis faoi cheannas Galligan. Is cosúil gurb í an bhratach a bhí in airde ar an Athenaeum in Inis Córthaidh an t-aon bhratach thrídhathach a cuireadh ar foluain lasmuigh de Bhaile Átha Cliath.
Fuair ceannairí Inis Córthaidh scéala go raibh deireadh leis an Éirí Amach i mBaile Átha Cliath toisc gur ghéill Mac Piarais agus na ceannairí eile Dé Sathairn, an 29 Aibreán. Ní raibh Foireann na Ceanncheathrún in Inis Córthaidh sásta a gcuid ionad a ghéilleadh ach amháin ar ordú díreach an Phiarsaigh.
Dé Domhnaigh, an 30 Aibreán, chuaigh Séamus Doyle agus Seán Etchingham go Baile Átha Cliath le tionlacan míleata as an mBreatain chun bualadh le Pádraig Mac Piarais ina chillín sa phríosún, áit ar scríobh Mac Piarais amach an t-ordú géillte. D’fhill siad abhaile as Baile Átha Cliath an oíche sin agus fógraíodh an t-ordú chun géilleadh ag meán oíche.
Ag meán lae, Dé Luain, an 1 Bealtaine, chuaigh 2,000 duine as fórsaí na Corónach isteach go hInis Córthaidh.
Gabhadh 375 duine ar an iomlán i gContae Loch Garman agus is i bpríosúin i Sasana a cuireadh formhór mór na ndaoine sin. Ní raibh córas príosúin Shasana in ann don dream a bhí faoi choimeád as Éirinn agus de réir a chéile bogadh formhór na bpríosúnach, lena n-áirítear fir Loch Garman, chuig campa intéirneach in Frongoch, campa príosúin i dtuaisceart na Breataine Bige a bhí taobh istigh de bhallaí seandrioglann fuisce.
Bhí tionchar ag na ceannairí ar an dá thaobh ar an gcúrsa a thóg an tÉirí Amach in Inis Córthaidh. B’oifigeach oilte a raibh cuntas teiste amhra aige é an Leifteanant-Ghinearál G.A. French, ceannaire thrúpaí na Breataine i gContae Loch Garman. De bharr chomh stuama is a láimhseáil sé an cás seachnaíodh tubaiste mhór ina bhféadfadh cuid mhaith daoine a bheith básaithe.
Ba iad ceannairí an Éirí Amach in Inis Córthaidh ná Robert Brennan, Séamus Doyle, Séamus Rafter, Michael de Lacey, Peter P. Galligan, Richard F. King agus Seán Etchingham. B’fhir chróga iad agus bhí róil lárnacha ag roinnt acu sa chontae agus sa tír níos déanaí – bhí Robert Brennan mar Ambasadóir na hÉireann chun Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá, bhí an T.D. Sinnott ar an gcéad Bhainisteoir Contae i Loch Garman agus bhí Micheál Kehoe, ceannaire mheitheal Fhianna Éireann, ag fónamh mar Uachtarán ar C.L.G., agus toghadh Seán Etchingham mar T.D. de chuid Shinn Féin in Olltoghchán 1918 agus ceapadh sa Rialtas é mar Rúnaí ar Chúrsaí Iascaigh. Daoradh ceannairí Inis Córthaidh go léir chun báis. Rinneadh iomalartú ar na pianbhreitheanna ina dhiaidh sin.
I gContae Loch Garman, tar éis an Éirí Amach, bhí an t-athrú ar thuairim an phobail le feiceáil go follasach i dtorthaí Olltoghchán 1918 chuig an bParlaimint in Westminster nuair a toghadh beirt Teachtaí Parlaiminte de chuid Shinn Féin, Jim Ryan agus Roger Sweetman agus chaill beirt as Páirtí Parlaiminte na hÉireann, Peter French agus Thomas Esmonde, a suíocháin. Ba phointe athraithe tábhachtach i stair na hÉireann a bhí san Éirí Amach i rith Sheachtain na Cásca. Roimh an Éirí Amach bhí an Rialtas Dúchais cumhdaithe sa dlí ach chuir an Cogadh Mór athrú ar an domhan. Bhí tionchar ollmhór ag an Éirí Amach agus ag na daoine a cuireadh chun báis ar thuairim an phobail agus bhí an lá sa deireadh thiar ag smaointe poblachtacha agus bhíothas ag éileamh Éireann a bheadh neamhspleách as féin. Ba é sin an fíorbhua a bhain cloí fhir agus mhná 1916 amach.
Na Cuimhneacháin i Loch Garman
Tá Comhairle Contae Loch Garman ag stiúradh agus ag comhordú chlár Chontae Loch Garman le haghaidh Chomóradh Céad Bliain Éirí Amach 1916. Beidh ár bpleananna le haghaidh chomóradh 1916 i gContae Loch Garman ar aon dul le seacht snáithe chlár náisiúnta 2016 mar seo a leanas: Searmanas, Machnamh ar an Stair, an Teanga Bheo, an Ghaeilge, an Óige agus an tSamhlaíocht, Léiriú Cultúrtha, Rannpháirtíocht Phobail agus Éireannaigh ar fud an Domhain agus Diaspóra.
Tá traidisiún mórálach i gContae Loch Garman ag comóradh Éirí Amach 1916 gach bliain le himeacht a bhíonn ar siúl in Inis Córthaidh gach Luan Cásca. Is clár bliana a bheidh sa Chlár Comórtha Céad Bliain a thosóidh in 2015 agus a leanfaidh ar feadh 2016 ar fad. Tá an príomhchlár imeachtaí le feiceáil sa doiciméad seo agus cuirfear leis trí raon imeachtaí pobalbhunaithe go háitiúil.
Is féidir imeachtaí comórtha céad bliain 1916 i gContae Loch Garman a fheiceáil ar ár suíomh gréasáin tiomnaithe www.enniscorthy1916.ie.
Ag tús 2015 bhí ceardlanna comhairliúcháin phoiblí againn leis an bpobal i gcoitinne ag féachaint le hionchur a fháil uathusan maidir le raon agus cineál na dtionscadal agus na n-imeachtaí ba cheart a bheith inár gcomóradh céad bliain. Moladh go láidir ag na ceardlanna sin gur chóir go mbeadh ár gclár sollúnta, cuimsitheach, machnamhach agus inspioráideach dár ndaoine óga agus is é sin an príomhthéama agus an mhór-aidhm atá againn le haghaidh an chláir.
I measc bhuaicphointí ár gcláir tá raon imeachtaí searmanais, léachtaí stairiúla, comhdhálacha agus foilseachán liteartha ar ghnéithe áirithe de 1916, pacáiste do scoileanna Chontae Loch Garman, taispeántas 1916 Chontae Loch Garman, raon ceolchoirmeacha, taifeadtaí scannáin, amhrán agus filíocht a cumadh le haghaidh 1916, gairdín cuimhneacháin tiomnaithe don ócáid, athchóiriú ar The Athenaeum agus ar ndóigh ár gComóradh bliantúil in Inis Córthaidh ar Luan Cásca, a bheidh mar chuid de rogha searmanas náisiúnta fleascleagain in 2016, agus ina dhiaidh déanfar aithris ar throdaíocht 1916 a bheidh ar an gceann is mó dá chineál in Éirinn.
Tá sé mar aidhm ag Clár Comórtha Céad Bliain 1916 i gContae Loch Garman a bheith urramach, umhal don saol atá caite agus inspioráideach don saol atá le teacht. Déanaimis Éirí Amach 1916 a chomóradh go mórtasach gan a dhath mairge.