Countess Constance Markiewicz c.1922 by J.B.Yeats Wikimedia Commons
A striking figure in the rebellion was an elderly woman stated to be of high title, who carried a rifle with fixed bayonet. She is stated to be one of the leaders of the Sinn Feiners. It is reported that Professor John MacNeill, chief of staff of the the Irish Volunteers has been held prisoner since Monday, whether by the authorities or the insurgents, is unknown. MacNeill repeatedly warned the more active of the insurgents against the evil consequences of their policy.
The Catholic Press August, 31st, 1916 p.14
Relics of the Fight at the Republican Headquarters, General Post Office, Dublin 1. Belt Plate of the Irish Volunteers. The wearer was burned to death in the conflagration. The wording in Gaelic reads, “Irish Volunteers.” 2. Two French Bayonets, old pattern found in the ashes. To the weapon on the right side, a blob of gold adheres, probably the remains of a sovereign or half-sovereign which melted in the conflagration and fell upon the blade. 3. Three inch High velocity cartridge, with conical nickeled bullet, used by the riflemen of the Irish Volunteers, found in one of the “Forts” after its evacuation.
Dublin, Wednesday.
The “Evening Mail” says:-
The Government have ordered two organisers of the Irish Volunteers to leave Ireland, and it is understood they will refuse to obey.
Inquiries at the Headquarters today elicited the fact that Mr. Ernest Blythe and Mr. Liam Mellows have been served with expatriation orders, signed by Major-General Friend, commanding his Majesty’s forces in Ireland.
According to the terms of the order, Messrs. Blythe and Mellows are requested to leave this country before 10 o’clock p.m. on Saturday next, 17th inst. On the 20th they will have to report to the military authorities where they intend to reside, and, if the place is approved of, they will not be allowed to leave the district or country without permission. No charge has been made against either of the men, who have been re-organising companies of the Volunteers in various parts of Ireland. The order was served upon Mr. Blythe early on Monday morning at a hotel in Ennistymon, County Clare. District-Inspector O’Brien and a number of other policemen entered his bedroom before he had arisen. Having read the document, the proposed deportee left by the next train for Dublin. Mr. Mellows was in Athenry when the police conveyed to him the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief. Both men state quite positively that they will not leave Ireland.
Deportation orders have been served upon a number of other men in the Irish Volunteers, but in those cases they were only prohibited from entering certain areas.
Last night Mr. Pim, better known by his nom-de-plume “A. Newman,” a Belfast author, received an order from the military authorities to leave Ireland. Mr. Pim was connected with the Irish Volunteer movement in Ulster.
Tribune (Melbourne, Vic.) 25th July 1914 (abridged)
Irish Volunteer memorial – Irish War of Independence Leo Broe (1899–1966) Photo: Jtdirl Wikimedia Commons
Here is what the London Times has to say in regard to the Irish Volunteers: —
‘We in Great Britain, with our forty-one million people, and with all the resources of civilisation at our backs, have not been able to raise in seven years as many Volunteers as Ireland, with her five million people and against the intentions of the Government, has been able to raise in about as many mouths. The Lord Chancellor calls all the Irish Volunteers illegal and unconstitutional. So undoubtedly they are. It is a lasting reflection upon the Government that their creation should ever have been permitted. But at the same time the Irish Volunteers deserve this credit —namely, that with every obstacle thrown in their way, and with not a shilling of public money paid to them, they are doing better than the Territorials, who have been petted and pampered by all sorts and conditions of men, and cost us three and a half millions of good money annually.’
The Burren and Beyond 