Easter Rising 1916: The Trials

by Sean Enright, Virtual Voice (Narrator)

After the Rebellion, came the trials. 3226 men and women were rounded up and brought to Richmond Barracks in Dublin, where they were screened for trial, deportation or release. In the following three weeks of May 1916 nearly 2000 men and women were deported and interned. 160 prisoners were tried by Field General Courts Martial. These trials were held in camera - no press or public were admitted. None of the prisoners were legally represented or permitted to give sworn evidence in their own defence. Most trials lasted about 20 minutes or less. 90 death sentences were passed and 15 carried out. This book provides a powerful analysis of an uncomfortable moment in history when the rule of law gave way to political imperatives. The trials and executions took place while the outcome of the great war hung in the balance. The government judged that publication of the trial records would damage army recruitment and the war effort, so the trial records were suppressed and most were thought to have been destroyed. But since the turn of the century more and more trial records have surfaced, casting dramatic new insights into what took place. This book, the companion to 'The Trial of Civilians by Military Ireland 1921', is a fascinating and comprehensive study of the trials which proved to be a pivotal event in Anglo-Irish history.

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First published November 22, 2013

Reviews

[Darran Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few chapters offered a good insight into the happenings of the Easter Rising and the subsequent legal fallout. What this book lacked was a normative analysis of the legal fallout. That is, the author's actual opinion on the situation would have been welcomed. The author could have
done without the descriptive account of each trial which became tedious to read after a while, especially as they were all very similar in nature.

[Gabriel Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart wrenching book about man's inhumanity to man. This book details the trials and executions of the leaders of the 1916 Rising.