Padraig Pearse - An Irish nationalist

The Gaelic League inevitably attracted militant nationalists and Pearse soon realised that it would take more than education and tradition to break the link with England.

In July 1914, Pearse was made a member of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a militant group that believed in using force to throw the British out of Ireland.

When England entered the First World War Irish nationalism split between those who wanted to take advantage of England's plight and those (including John Redmond) who wanted to assist England in the war in the hope of getting concessions when it was over.

John Redmond, a member of Parliament fighting for Home Rule, took a pro-British stance during the war. This alienated many Irish citizens and support for the Brotherhood grew. Shortly before 1915, the Irish Republican Brotherhood had plans for a full military revolution in Ireland. Pearse was a believer in a revolution while the British were occupied fighting a war in Europe. Pearse was opposed to Redmond's stance and felt that the only way to liberate Ireland was by insurrection. His famous oration at the funeral of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (an Irish revolutionary) in August 1915 demonstrates this:

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