eiri amach na casca <br />(the Easter rising) <br /> <br />The Proclamation had met with silence, <br />he must have known the fight was lost, <br />But, Connolly, faithful to the Cause, <br />Was accepting of its cost. <br /> <br />They took the Green, The inns of Court, <br />the Post on Sackville Street <br />De Valera stood at Bolandʼ s mill <br />the place where five roads meet. <br /> <br />Their commander, Pearse, a scholar, <br />Apportioned his menʼ s lives, <br />To garrison each strong point <br />Till the British would arrive. <br /> <br />Their tactics were pure suicide- <br />They could not hope to stand, <br />But their strategy was brilliant <br />Meant to rouse a sleeping land. <br /> <br />Sure to die of a snipers bullet- <br />Or a British firing squad <br />These unabashed Republicans <br />Held out against long odds.. <br /> <br />Bloodied by the Rebel guns, <br />The foe paid dear for ground <br />The general post office was in flames <br />as their gunboats shelled our town. <br /> <br />The week crawled past and Dublin burned <br />The post Office glowed White hot <br />Pearse watched his troop dwindle and fade. <br />Faint from shell and shock.. <br /> <br /> <br />They gave up to be crucified <br />In Imperial British fashion <br />And by dying saved their country. <br />Their deaths brought her resurrection. <br /> <br />The British with their firing squad <br />Could ready, aim and fire. <br />The Brotherhood by dying <br />Could persuade, convince, inspire <br /> <br />From the graves of these patriot men <br />Was an Irish nation grown. <br />Their struggle at the post office <br />Still captured in itsʼ stone.<br /><br />John F. McCullagh<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-easter-rising/
