Deansgrange Cemetary & The Easter Rising

The Easter Rising of 1916 was one of the most important events in Irish history. It was the catalyst that led to the War of Independence and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Nearly 150 people associated with the Rising are buried in Deansgrange Cemetery. The stories of the major events of the Rising - the executions of the leaders, the North King Street Massacre, the battles at Mount Street and Ashbourne, the Sheehy Skeffington executions, the ambush of the Volunteer Training Corps (GRs), the flight from the GPO, the fighting in each garrison area and in other parts of the country - can be told through these graves. The graves include around 49 casualties - 4 Volunteers, 10 British soldiers and 35 civilians - who were killed during Easter Week. In addition another 100 individuals, who are buried here, were connected to the events of the Rising. Among this group are Kathleen Daly Clarke and Aine Ceannt, political activists and widows of executed leaders; Dr Kathleen Lynn who was in charge of the City Hall garrison at the surrender; Sean Lemass who fought at the GPO; and other notables and less prominent Volunteers who participated in the planning, the fighting and its aftermath. The graves of the Volunteers are maintained by the National Graves Association; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for the graves of the British Soldiers; but the civilians were mostly buried in unmarked communal plots. To commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising, Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown County Council has placed permanent gravestones on these civilian graves and in 2016 will erect a monument at the entrance to the cemetery.