THE living relatives of fighters who left Scotland to take up arms in one of the most pivotal moments in Irish history have been traced for a new book.
The 1916 Easter Rising sought to assert Ireland’s “national right to freedom and sovereignty”. Around 1,600 Republicans joined the armed uprising in Dublin, with Edinburgh-born James Connolly among its leaders. Up to 20,000 British soldiers massed to quash the rebellion.
Last year a new expert group was established to examine Scotland’s role. Now it is preparing to publish an in-depth book about the Scots-based fighters who took part, after researchers traced their families.
Some of those contacted had no idea about their ancestors’ involvement in a key moment in Ireland’s journey to independence.
Scots-Irish historian Stephen Coyle, of the 1916 Rising Centenary Committee (Scotland), says the publication is planned for the St Patrick’s Day weekend in March.
Coyle, from Glasgow, says the publication will be the culmination of 30 years of research. He said: “There were 25 from Scotland who went to fight in the Rising. We have traced the families of about a dozen.
“Most of them have been forgotten about. They have been neglected. We want to make people aware of that.”
Backed by funding from the Irish Consulate, the book has the working title of We Will Rise Again: Scotland And The Easter Rising.
Singer Eddi Reader, whose grand- father Seamus was a rebel, is among those to have contributed.
He was imprisoned in Edinburgh at the time of the Rising, but later went to take part in the civil war.
Talks with publishers have yet to conclude but Coyle says the time is right for a reappraisal of the subject.
More than 450 people died during the Rising, with another 2,500 wounded. The rebels were forced to surrender in the face of British military strength and the leaders, including Connolly, were executed.
Coyle said: “It wasn’t discussed publicly for decades. People feared others might get the wrong idea about them if they talked about it.
“Some of the families didn’t know about their relatives’ involvement. It’s like old soldiers, they don’t necess- arily want to talk about what they saw and did.”
Coyle went on: “There are close historical ties between Scotland and Ireland. It is a complicated relationship and one that is getting stronger again.”
Most of those remembered in the book share similar backgrounds, many working in the mining sector and struggling against poverty.
Meanwhile, preparations are under way for the Scottish launch of a new book dedicated to Margaret Skinnider, the Coatbridge schoolteacher-turned-sniper who was the only woman wounded in action during the six-day conflict.
Skinnider,who was also involved in the women’s suffrage movement in Scotland, was a member of the Cumann na mBan (League of Women) and a close ally of Connolly.
She escaped back to Scotland despite her injuries and later served as paymaster general of the Irish Republican Army until her arrest in 1923.
The book, Margaret Skinnider: 1916 Heroine and the Monaghan Connection, explores her family connection to the Monaghan area.
The book is written by local historian Mackie Rooney and the Scottish event, which takes place in Malones Irish Bar in Glasgow on Saturday, comes days after the official launch in Ireland.
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