Éamonn Ceannt

Éamonn Ceannt

Éamonn Ceannt (birth name Edward Thomas Kent ; born September 21, 1881 in Ballymoe , County Galway , † May 8, 1916 in Kilmainham Gaol Prison , Dublin ) was an Irish freedom fighter, who played an important role as a leader in the Irish Easter Rising in 1916.

biography

Ceannt spent the first few years of his life in the barracks at Ballymoe, where his father, James Kent, was posted as an officer in the Royal Irish Constabulary . When his father retired from active service, the family moved to Dublin. There in the O'Connell School , Éamonn Ceannt took the first steps towards becoming an Irish nationalist. The majority of the leaders of the 1916 uprising were former Christian Brothers school students .

Two events sparked a turn to nationalism at the end of the 19th century. These were the memorials of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the Second Boer War in South Africa. Ceannt was interested in both events. He took part in the memorial services. He became a member of Conradh na Gaeilge and adopted the Irish version of his name (Éamonn). He also became a master at the game of uilleann pipes , even performing before Pope Pius X , who was accompanied by a group of elderly Irish priests who had long been in exile. He was hired as an accountant for the Dublin City Council (Dublin Corporation).

In June 1905, in a ceremony performed in Irish , Ceannt married Áine Ní Bhraonáin (O'Brennan). Their son Ronán Ceannt was born in June 1906. Áine Ceannt founded the Irish White Cross in 1921 to help families suffering from British actions or the deaths of breadwinners in the War of Independence.

The Easter Rising

Around 1913 he became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and later one of the founding members of the Irish Volunteers . He played an important role in the planning of the 1916 Easter Rising. He was one of the original members of the military committee (alongside Patrick Pearse and Joseph Plunkett , and Thomas James Clarke and Seán Mac Diarmada shortly afterwards ). Thus he was one of the seven signatories of the Easter Proclamation (in addition to the aforementioned Thomas MacDonagh and James Connolly ). He became the commandant of the 4th Battalion of the Irish Volunteers. During the uprising he was stationed at the South Dublin Union and the Marrowbone Lane Distillery with more than 100 men under his command, including his deputy Cathal Brugha and WT Cosgrave . His unit experienced intense fighting during the week, then capitulated on orders from superior officer Patrick Pearse.

Ceannt was in Kilmainham Gaol imprisoned and on 8 May 1916 at the age of 34 by shooting executed .

legacy

Ceannt Station , the main bus and train station in Galway , is named after him. The Éamonn Ceannt Park with the Éamonn Ceannt Cycling Stadium in Dublin also bears his name. Éamonn Ceannt Tower in Ballymun , which was demolished in 2005, is also named after him.

literature

• William Henry, Supreme Sacrifice: The Story of Eamonn Ceannt , Mercier Press, 2005

Web links

• Information provided by Éamonn Ceannt in the 1911 Census

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Éamonn Ceannt . In: The 1916 Rising: Personalities and Perspectives . National Library of Ireland. 2006. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved on February 15, 2014.
2. ^ FX Martin: Leaders and men of the Easter Rising: Dublin 1916 . Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 1967, p. 249.
3. ^ PJ Mathews: Stirring up disloyalty: the Boer War, the Irish Literary Theater and the emergence of a new separatism . In: Irish University Review (Ed.): Irish University Review: a journal of Irish Studies . 33, No. 1, Dublin, March 22, 2003, ISSN  0021-1427 , pp. 99-116. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
4. ^ John O'Connor: The 1916 Proclamation . Anvil Books [in association with] Irish Books and Media, Minneapolis 1999, ISBN 978-0-937702-19-2 , p. 92.
5. ↑ The Pope and the Warpipes