“In bloody protest for a glorious thing”: The Legacy of the Easter Rising in Say Nothing and Cal Emma Getz College

In Patrick Pearse’s search for recruits to the Volunteer Army, a year before the Easter Rising of 1916, he stated, “Whatever soul-searchings there may be among Irish political parties now or hereafter, we go on in the calm certitude of having done the clear, clean, sheer thing. We have the strength and the peace of mind of those who never compromise.” This is a quote of confidence in unflinching ideals that would be used for generations to come. Of course, this political uprising was nowhere near the first in Ireland. Figures like Pearse were only riding the shoulders of giants like Wolfe Tone, who was active over a century before. Despite this, the Easter Rising established itself as a turning point in Irish history, an event immortalized in literature and referenced with every political action of the next century. This is due to the simultaneously successful and tragic nature of the event: Of course, it lead to the independence of the Republic of Ireland, but at the same time, many people died, including rebels who sacrificed their lives and innocent civilians caught in the crossfire or mistaken for rebels. Therefore the event is remembered for two reasons: memorializing the brave or innocent who gave or lost their lives for...