Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising

Easter came late in 1916, so we’re technically a full month away from the centennial of the failed Easter uprising. The British killed several hundred civilians in Dublin during the week-long rebellion, and quickly executed a number of Irish patriots for treason, though the siege really stoked the fires in the Irish fight for independence. To commemorate the event, Providence Public Library’s Special Collections Department pulled together an exhibit including a rare original copy of Ireland’s Declaration of Independence, which was read aloud by P.H. Pearse to the crowds of Dublin on Easter Monday, 1916. It’s one of only two copies in North America.