Lentorama 2022: It Happened on Easter

Day 14: Patrick Pearse elected president of the Irish Republic

The Irish Republican Brotherhood planned on leading a rebellion in Ireland against British rule as early as 1914, taking advantage of Britain's involvement in World War I. This led to the establishment of a military council within the IRB, which continued to plan for a rising even though the leadership of the IRB and the related Irish Volunteers thought the timing wasn't right. 

As planning continued, the council got the Irish Citizen Army, led by James Connolly, to join in the rebellion rather than launch their own. In the week prior to Easter, the British intercepted a shipment of German arms meant for the rebels, which prompted the ICA to call off all actions for Easter Sunday. 

The IRB's military council on Easter, April 23 1916, and decided to go ahead with the rising, even if the ICA wouldn't be involved. Patrick Pearse was named both president of the Irish Republic and commander in chief of its army (made up of the Irish Volunteers and the ICA). New orders were sent out, and the rest is history.