Patrick Henry Pearse

Patrick Henry Pearse , 1879-1916, Irish educator and patriot. He was educated for the law but early in his career made himself part of the Gaelic movement in Ireland. Pearse was active in the work of the Gaelic League and edited its journal, An Claidheamh Soluis. He founded the influential bilingual St. Enda's School near Dublin. He joined (1913) the Irish Volunteers and commanded the Irish forces in the Easter Rebellion of 1916. Upon his surrender he was tried by court-martial in England and promptly executed. His stories, poems, and plays were collected in 1917, his political writings and speeches in 1922.

Bibliography: See biographies by L. LeRoux (tr. by D. Ryan, 1932), and R. J. Porter (1973).

Pearse, Patrick Henry (b. 10 Nov. 1879, d. 3 May 1916). Irish revolutionary Born in Dublin, and educated at private school and the Royal University of Ireland, Pearse's early career was as an educationalist and lecturer, particularly in Irish Gaelic. He had joined the Gaelic League in 1895, soon edited its newspaper, and founded a bilingual school (Scoil Éanna in Ranelagh). His early career convinced him that Irish nationhood could only be attained after the Irish language and traditional Irish culture were revived. He was originally a constitutional nationalist, supporting the Home Rule demands of John Redmond, but soon became convinced that Britain would not pass Home Rule over Ulster Unionist objections. In 1913 he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and was elected to the Provisional Committee of the Irish Volunteers (of which he was a founder member in November 1913). His famous oration over the grave of Irish patriot Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in 1915, with its final words ‘Ireland unfree shall never be at peace’, became a mantra for fiery nationalists. He led the ill-conceived and unsuccessful Easter Rising of 1916, which led to his imprisonment. He was court-martialled, condemned to death, and executed in Kilmainham gaol (Dublin). In addition to his political and military activities, he considered his work for the Irish language central to his life, and wrote stories, essays, and poetry in Irish and English.

Pearse, Patrick (1879–1916). Pearse was the son of an English‐born stonemason, a non‐practising lawyer, dramatist, and headmaster of St Enda's School (Dublin), which he ran on Gaelic Revivalist lines. A leading member of the Gaelic League, he supported Home Rule up to 1912: the Ulster crisis caused him to advocate a militant nationalism and to join the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He became a member of the IRB military council which planned the Easter Rising. Pearse read the declaration of the Provisional Irish Republic outside the General Post Office on 24 April 1916; gave orders for surrender five days later; and was executed on 3 May.