Independence Day of Ireland
Description:
This declaration was signed by the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rebellion and amounted to a death sentence.
Irish and Irish!
In the name of God and the bygone generations through which she found her ancient traditions of statehood, Ireland, with our voices, calls on her children to rally under her banner and to attack for freedom. Having organized and trained the fighters of the underground revolutionary organization of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the open military formations of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Civil Army, persistently improving her fighting skills, with all determination waiting for the right moment to prove herself, she seizes this moment and, supported by her exiled children in America and courageous supporters in Europe, but above all relying on her own strength, strikes with confidence in victory.
We affirm the right of the people of Ireland to own Ireland, freely determine the fate of Ireland, and to be independent and united. The prolonged usurpation of this right by the people and government of another power has not abolished it; nothing can deprive the Irish of this right except their complete extermination. For generations, the Irish people have defended their right to freedom and independence; six times in the last three centuries, the Irish have risen to its defense with arms in their hands.
Remaining true to this fundamental principle, and defending it once more in battle before the eyes of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic a Sovereign Independent State, and declare our readiness and our comrades-in-arms ready to give their lives to the cause of its freedom, its welfare, its prosperity among other nations. The Irish Republic reaffirms its commitment to the interests of every Irish and Irish woman. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equality of rights and opportunities for all citizens, proclaims its determination to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the nation as a whole and of each individual, to give equal attention and care to all the sons and daughters of Ireland, and to forget forever the disputes and disagreements which have been carefully planted by foreigners and which have divided one nation into majority and minority.
Until, by the force of our arms, we have brought nearer the proper moment for the election of a permanent National Government, representing the whole people of Ireland and elected by the votes of all her men and women, all civil and military matters of the Republic shall be decided in the name of the people by the Provisional Government hereby established.
We entrust the cause of the Irish Republic to the protection of the Most High, whose blessing we call upon our arms, and in our prayers to Him we ask that no one who decides to devote himself to this good cause should disgrace it by his cowardice or injustice.
In this great hour, the Irish nation, by its courage and endurance, and the willingness of its children to sacrifice everything for the common good, must prove that it is worthy of its majestic destiny.
Signed on behalf of the Provisional Government:
Thomas J. Clark
Sean McDermott.
Thomas MacDonagh
P.G. Pierce.
Eamonn Kent
James Connolly
Joseph Plunkett