Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE SEVEN SIGNATORIES of the 1916 Rising would want the forty children who died during that week to be remembered, according to Joe Duffy.
The RTÉ presenter’s book ‘Children of the Rising’ won the National Book Tokens Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award this week. Duffy said:
The forty children whose stories are told in this book, they are part of our history, they died as part of our history.
The Liveline presenter explained how James Connolly himself lost a child, Mona, who died when she was just 12 years of age. Her petticoat caught fire in her aunt’s house and she was burnt to death.
Connolly only heard of the death after his family got off the boat in America, where he was waiting for them. Duffy said that Connolly grieved for his daughter for a full year, adding:
The seven signatories – the Pearse, the Plunkett, the Connolly and the Clarke, the MacDonagh, and the Mac Diarmada and the Ceannt – they would have wanted those children remembered. They would have wanted them up on that pedestal with them.
Duffy was inspired to write the book after he was approached by the Jack & Jill Foundation to decorate The Children of the Revolution Egg, which was displayed at the Gresham Hotel.
There was nothing definite by any stretch of the imagination and little if any mention of it at all in any of the history books.
Other people got in touch and said you’ve left out my great great uncle, obviously the children had no direct descendants and that’s one of the reasons their stories were lost over the generations.
The presenter added that it was an achievement for any child to survive during that time.
He cited one study which showed that of 100 children born in the Liberties, 62 of them were dead before their 10th birthday.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
If the Palestinians want solutions to their problems they need to start at home. They have no leadership worth discussing. No point in having an independant state if you cant run it. While Israel is a large part of their problems they themselves inspire little confidence in peaceful co existance.
Meanwhile life goes on as normal
“In June, the Islamic Jihad held the “Generation of Faith” summer camp in Rafah for boys aged 6-16. The camp activities included various military exercises, such as “kidnapping soldiers,” firing guns using live ammunition, and crossing obstacle courses. The campers also heard lectures on religion, and were trained in various other fields, such as first aid, scouting, civil defense, martial arts, and behavior during emergencies”
Lovely. Mort’s post speaks volumes about the “downtrodden” Palestinians.
Much like the Israeli practice of military service then ?
If you were under military occasion for forty six years , military training might seem like a good idea too ?
6 year old boys being trained to kill, so sad.
The IDF have no problem shooting six year olds, even sadder.
What are you talking about Gavan? The IDF do not target children. Hamas on the other hand like to push their own children directly into harms way. Hamas also like to use imagery taken in other conflicts and claim it as something happening in either Gaza or in the West Bank. You’ve probably never been to either Palestine or Israel and just like spouting nonsense on a topic that you are completely clueless about.
Cowards hiding behind women and children. No backbone.
Yeah the Palestinians played up on that Muhammad al-Durrah “shooting” for years but the French Supreme court and a new review of France 2′s unedited footage have killed that lie. If, and it’s a very big if, he was shot the shots came from Palestinians. Then there are the numerous cases of them using pictures of dead and injured children from Syria and claiming them as Palestinians. Or the propaganda from Egyptian PM Kandil with the body of four year old Mahmoud Sadallah who they claimed was killed by the IAF, but the UN report found was hit by a Hamas rocket.
It’s you who seems to be both clueless and brainless Brian. The IDF have been murdering children for years , hundreds of them in both Palestine and surrounding countries, read the UN and other reports of the assault on Gaza if its not too much for you
And when Hamas fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel, what do you call that?
It is murder, the same as sending an F 16 or apache helicopter to bomb a civilian area
And when the rockets are fired from civilian areas, where should the response be directed?
That’s the standard excuse the IDF use,unfortunately it does not hold up, like when they attacked the UN base in Lebanon killing hundreds of people and the video evidence proved there had been no rocket fire from the base.
The UN and HRW are both on record accusing Hamas of firing indiscriminately into civilian areas, from civilian areas in the west bank, including a UN funded school. Using civilians as both targets and human shields are both considered war crimes.
The IDF use civilians as human shields, it is called the neighbour policy, and have committed more than their share of war crimes , including using white phosphorus depleted uranium munitions and the whole collective punishment of the Palestinian people, all considered war crimes under the Geneva convention.
have your say