Faith profiles of the leadership of the 1916 Rising

This week's INM Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane
President Michael D Higgins goes to Kerry this week to mark the role Roger Casement played in the 1916 Rising. It is generally accepted that things have been done well and anyone with whom I have spoken, who visited any of the exhibitions or events has been impressed with what they have seen.

Some weeks ago I was in Limerick and overheard a priest tell the story of making enquiries about a book on the Rising.

He had gone into a bookshop in the city and had been told that they did not have the book in question but had ordered three copies.

He was telling the story because he was somewhat surprised that the shop was ordering only three of the books. As he said himself: "Three books for a city the size of Limerick."

The book in question is 'The End of All Things Earthly - Faith Profiles of the 1916 Leaders', edited by David Bracken and published by Veritas.It's a small book but a great read.It gives a short account of the lives of the 16 men who were executed after the 1916 Rising, concentrating on aspects of their Christian faith.

I was initially drawn to the book because of what I overheard the priest say and also because of my interest in Seán Heuston, who had a brother a Dominican priest, whom I knew and admired.

Reading through the contents gave me the opportunity to associate each of the men with a rail station, which is named in his honour. But there is a problem with the naming as there is only one Pearse Station, whereas two Pearses were executed.

When CIE renamed the stations on the 50th anniversary they cleverly linked each station to a man who was associated with the area. Tralee is called Casement as Roger had links with Kerry. Con Colbert grew up in West Limerick so every reason to call the station in Limerick Colbert Station. So is Pearse Station at Westland Row called after Patrick or Willie? Most likely Patrick.

The book contains a fount of knowledge, especially for people who are not too familiar with the lives of the men involved.

I knew something about Roger Casement working for the British Government in the Congo but I never knew that Casement was trying to recruit an Irish Dominican priest, who was a chaplain to Irish prisoners of war, into an Irish Brigade for the Germans.

Casement embraced Catholicism and received his first Holy Communion at Mass in Pentonville Prison on August 3, 1916.

Con Colbert's faith, we are told, was a great consolation for him, especially in times of personal distress. It seems the expression of his faith was something that proved a support to his companions in the days before their execution.

The last words of Seán Heuston as he was shot by firing squad on Monday, May 8, 1916 were 'My Jesus, mercy'.

Capuchin priest Aloysius Travers administered the sacraments to James Connolly. 

He later wrote an account of his meeting, quoting Connolly: "... It is as a priest I want to see you. I have seen and heard of the brave conduct of the priests and nuns during the week and I believe they are the best of friends of the workers".

On May 7 Travers met Nationalist MP John Dillon in an attempt to bring a halt to the executions, explaining how the mood in Dublin among the working classes was becoming extremely bitter.Each of the biographies is written by a different person.

It's a lovely read, costs €9.99 and most informative.