Have you been watching War and Peace on the BBC? I haven’t either but what I’d like to see is Rebellion on RTE (the Republic of Ireland broadcaster). Just to bring you up to speed, 100 years ago, in 1916, when the rest of the world was concentrating on the First World War, Ireland had a rebellion against British rule.
This was not fair because the Irish who were pro-British had enlisted and were fighting in the trenches in France. Most of the British army was doing likewise, so a handful of freedom fighters/terrorists (cross out as you please) made a bit of a splash when they occupied the General Post Office on the main thoroughfare of Dublin on Easter Monday 1916. This is being commemorated by an RTE series Rebellion. I’d like fellow blogger, The Irish Aesthete, to tell us where this scene was filmed; massive guess, Townley Hall on the Boyne outside Drogheda?
It is getting a rough ride: too many bits of modern Dublin in shot; yellow lines, TV aerials etc. However, the director had one big problem. Nelson’s Pillar on Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street) was blown up by the IRA in March 1966. A really neat job that they had to out-source to a Dutchman with the skill to bring down a 121 foot monument without killing any passers by.
So, for the TV series, they used CGI to insert Nelson’s Column on Trafalgar Square. The purists are all furious. The other people who are furious are the historians who point out that there is significant deviation from the truth in the series. However, I think it’s probably gripping stuff and I’ll be sending for the box-set.
The Irish Grand National is run at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday. The rebellion did not interfere with this. My grandfather was on leave from the trenches and attended in British uniform. The “rebellion” could have been a footnote in history but, unfortunately, the ring leaders were executed by firing squad. They became martyrs.
I find it interesting how a country sees itself. Here are examples taken from my schoolboy stamp collection.
Dear Christopher,
The Irish Aesthete pronounces: good guess (Townley Hall is one of the most flawless buildings in Ireland and its staircase hall is not dissimilar) but actually it is one of the two staircases in Dublin’s City Hall, designed as the Royal Exchange 1769 by English-born architect Thomas Cooley. A link: Francis Johnston, who designed Townley Hall (and would later design the General Post Office in which the Easter Rising leaders based themselves), trained under Cooley and effectively took over his practice after the latter’s death, the first job being to finish designs for Rokeby Hall, next to your family’s own place.
Thank you, Robert, I knew I could rely on you for an authorative and relevant comment.
Dear Christopher,
Not only was it a mistake to execute the perpetrators of the Rising it was also a grave error to command Irish soldiers fighting with the British army, on home leave, to join the fight on the streets of Dublin against their fellow countrymen and, in some cases, their cousins and brothers.
450 people were killed and more than 2000 injured.