Eoin MacNeill and most of the Irish Volunteers, who had no idea of the planned Rising, continued to drill and parade as normal. MacNeill was not a member of the IRB and had been opposed to the idea of a rebellion. He believed that the Irish Volunteers could only justify fighting if they were first attacked by the British government. The Military Council knew that for the Easter Rising to be a success, they would need MacNeill and the Irish Volunteers. They showed MacNeill a forged document stating that the British government planned to disarm the Irish Volunteers. The document was on Dublin Castle paper, so it became known as the Castle Document. MacNeill gave the Irish Volunteers permission to take part in the Easter Rising.
The Aud The plans go wrong
The Easter Rising was planned as a nationwide rebellion. Arms and ammunition were to land in Co. Kerry with Roger Casement on board the Aud and be distributed to Irish Volunteer groups throughout the country. However, the plans soon began to go wrong.
The Aud was captured by the British navy in Tralee Bay on the Friday before Easter. It was sunk by its captain and all 20,000 rifles were lost. Casement, who had been travelling in a German submarine, was captured. Eoin MacNeill found out that the Castle Document was a forgery. He cancelled the participation of the Irish Volunteers by placing a notice in the Sunday Independent newspaper.
Any chance of success was fading. However, the Military Council decided to go ahead with the Rising.
Eoin MacNeill’s cancellation notice in the Sunday Independent
COLLABORATE: Work together to research five facts about Roger Casement’s career before the 1916 Rising. CHECKPOINT!
1. Explain the term blood sacrifice. 2. What was the role of the Military Council in planning the Rising? 3. What support from outside Ireland did the rebels get? 4. Describe the purpose of the Castle Document. 5. How did the plans for the Rising fall apart during Easter week?
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I can explain how the Easter Rising was planned and what went wrong.
