Pádraic Henry Pearse (1879-1916)
My father was from England and My mother was from County Meath. I was born in Dublin, and received my education from the Chrisitian Brothers in Westland Row, and completed my degree in Arts and Law at the Royal University in 1901.I became interested in the heritage and history of Ireland at a very early age and I joined the Gaelic League when I was 21 years Of Age. The purpose of the league was to promote Irish tradition and language and it was very much part of the revival of Gaelic consciousness that took place at the turn of the century. I tried to use knowledge and education to defeat the English and insisted on the use of the native Irish language and I founded the St. Edna's College near Dublin in 1908. St Edna's structured its curriculum around Irish traditions and culture and tutored in both the Irish and English languages. The Gaelic League inevitably attracted militant nationalists, Makeing it Odvious That it would Take More than an Education toe Defent the English. In July 1914, I Became a member of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a militant group that believed in using force to throw the British out of Ireland. When England entered the First World War, Irish nationalism split between those who wanted to take advantage of England's plight and those (including John Redmond) who wanted to assist England in the war in the hope of getting concessions when it was over. I was heavily involved with the planning of the 1916 Easter Rising which was the catalyst for the subsequent War of Independence.
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