1916 The Easter Rising (Part 2)

On Easter Monday 1916,24 April 1916, Irish nationalists launched an armed revolt against British rule in Ireland. The British Army brought in thousands of reinforcements as well as artillery and a gunboat. There was street fighting on the routes into the Dublin city centre, where the rebels slowed the British advance and inflicted many casualties. Elsewhere in Dublin, the fighting mainly consisted of sniping and long-range gun battles. The main rebel positions were gradually surrounded and bombarded with artillery. There were isolated actions in other parts of Ireland; Volunteer leader Eoin MacNeill had issued a countermand in a bid to halt the Rising, which greatly reduced the number of rebels who mobilised. With much greater numbers and heavier weapons, the British Army suppressed the Rising. Pearse agreed to an unconditional surrender on Saturday 29 April, although sporadic fighting continued briefly. After the surrender, the country remained under martial law. Although quickly suppressed by the British Army, the rising was a seminal moment in modern Irish history, helping pave the way to the nation's independence in 1922.