This event took place on Saturday March 17, 2012 at The Airsoft Factory
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Music by The Dropkick Murphys

The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) had planned the Rising against British rule to break out on 23 April 1916. Weapons for the IRB were supplied by Germany, which the shipment included over 20,000 rifles, as well as 10 machine guns. However, the plot was discovered on 21 April 1916 and the weapons were lost when the ship carrying them was scuttled to prevent the arms from falling into the hands of the British.

The IRB plan was to seize a compact area of central Dublin and launch simultaneous risings around the country. In the event, the rising consisted of a week’s street fighting in the Irish capital after which the rebels surrendered. The British used overwhelming force, including over 16,000 troops, artillery, and a naval gunboat, to put down the rebellion. Over half the 500 or so killed were civilians caught in the crossfire. It was during the Rising that the Volunteers began to refer to themselves as the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

The leaders seized the General Post Office (GPO), raising two flags: a green flag bearing the legend "Irish Republic" and the Tricolour, and proclaiming independence for Ireland. The Rising later became a celebrated episode for Irish nationalists. The rebel Volunteers were a minority faction among Irish nationalists and up to 200,000 Irishmen were serving on the British side in the First World War. There were calls for the execution of the "ringleaders" in the major Irish nationalist daily newspaper, the Irish Independent, and local authorities also sought the ringleaders.

However, opinion dramatically shifted to the rebels’ side in the next two years. Opinion shifted even more in favour of the Republicans in 1917–18 with the Conscription Crisis, an attempt by Britain to impose conscription on Ireland to bolster its flagging war effort. By 1917, this was extremely unpopular in Ireland due to heavy casualties on the Western Front.

From 1916 to 1918, the two dominant nationalist movements, Sinn Féin and the Irish Parliamentary Party, fought a tough series of battles in by-elections. Neither won a decisive victory; however, the Conscription Crisis tipped the balance in favour of Sinn Féin.
In this new position of strength, the Irish Volunteers, who had been swollen to over 100,000 men in the conscription crisis, were re-organised as the army of this Republic. Hence they began to refer to themselves as the Irish Republican Army.

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