Subject: óglach 'volunteer' republican revolutionary

Culture: Catholic Irish

Setting: Irish revolution, Ireland 1910s-1920s

Object: costume

National Museum of Ireland -- Decorative Arts & History > The Irish Wars *

"Who is this man?

Is he a civilian going about his normal business, or is he an IRA man about to mount a raid on the British Army?

"Most IRA fighters wore everyday clothes, making it difficult for the police and British army to distinguish them from civilians.

An IRA man could hide a pistol under a coat as he moved into position for an ambush."

* Paisley & Gray

* National Museum of Ireland -- Decorative Arts & History

"Aftermath: execution This is the undershirt James Connolly, leader of the Irish Citizen Army, wore in the GPO.

Presumably the garment was removed when he was wounded in the leg three days into the Rising.

Following the surrender, Connolly and 14 of the other leaders were executed by firing squad,

an act that turned them into martyrs in the eyes of much of the Irish population, both at home and overseas.

Connolly was the last to die, shot propped up in a chair because of his leg wound."