On this day in 1879, leader of the 1916 Easter Rising and Irish revolutionary Padraig Pearse was born. He developed a love for the Irish language and at sixteen joined the Gaelic League. By the age of 23, Pearse had become the editor for the League’s newspaper “An Claidheamh Soluis” (“The Sword of the Light.”) In December 1913, he was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB.) He was chosen for his writing and speaking skills to be the spokesman for the Easter Rising. It was Pearse who famously proclaimed from the steps of the General Post Office that Ireland was a Republic. After six days of fighting, he and his forces surrendered and he was arrested by British forces. He was the among the first revolutionaries to be executed.
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