Irish barricaded inside the General Post Office in Dublin during the Easter Rising in 1916

Context: Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, began quietly in Dublin, with British troops on routine guard duty as the First World War raged elsewhere. Few expected unrest, and places like the General Post Office seemed destined for another uneventful day.

That calm broke when the Kimmage Garrison, led by Captain George Plunkett, appeared in the city’s southwest, marching like ordinary soldiers. In a sudden theatrical turn, Plunkett commandeered a tram at gunpoint, loaded his 52 men aboard, and coolly requested “fifty-two tuppenny tickets to the city centre,” marking the opening act of the Easter Rising.