The Easter Rising – II

                Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

                Content: After centuries of English rule, Ireland began the final thrust toward independence with an ill-fated uprising that floundered but led five years later to the Irish Free State, the foundation of the modern Irish Republic. The Easter Rising emerged directly from frustration with English vacillation on the question of Home Rule. Having passed a comprehensive Home Rule Bill in 1914, Parliament almost immediately suspended it due to the threat of World War I. This reversal disappointed most of the Irish people, humiliated moderate politicians who had tried to work with the English, and threw momentum into the hands of radical parties such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood and one of its leaders, James Connolly.