Few Irish nationalist commentators or politicians doubt that the insurrection of Easter 1916 was the most important event in 20th-century Irish history, marking the moment when Ireland emerged symbolically from English domination. Sinn Fein's extraordinary tally of seats at the 1918 general election, the guerrilla war against the British forces that followed, the establishment of the Free State in 1921, and de Valera's unilateral declaration of an Irish republic in 1948 are regarded as fulfilling the prescription issued in 1916.

LRB 1 December 2005 | PDF Download