Two brother fighting two very different Wars

Posted by Jim on February 27, 2016

by Ciaran Mc

Exactly a year to the day after the commencement of the Easter Rising,
24th April 1917, Sergeant-Major William (Bill) Leeman Ceannt was killed
in action during the First World War, Battle of Arras. A year
previously, Commandant Eamonn Ceannt, Bill’s younger brother, had
occupied and instructed the 4th Battalion of the Irish Volunteers in the
rebel garrison, South Dublin Union, in their fight against the same
British army his brother committed too. The grievous news of the death
of Bill on the Western Front reached the Ceannt family on 8th May 1917,
the date of the first Anniversary of Eamonn’s execution by the British
for his part in the Easter Rising. The fascinating story of the two
Ceannt brothers, Eamonn the Easter Irish Revolutionary, and, Bill the
Great War British soldier, illustrates the diverse allegiances amongst
families and the political complexity of Ireland in the early part of
the 20th Century.

Eamonn Ceannt, in many ways, is the “unknown” man among the leaders of
the 1916 Easter Rising. As one of the seven signatories to the
proclamation of the Irish Republic, Eamonn was a pivotal figure in the
planning of the Rising and as Commandant of the South Dublin Union,
where some of the fiercest fighting took place during Easter week. Some
believe, Eamonn was the “physical force” advocate amongst the Easter
leaders. The Rising for Eamonn was the culmination of a life dedicated
to political activism and the advancement and achievement of Irish
freedom.

As with many young people of the late 19th century, the centenary of the
United Irishman’s 1798 Rebellion coupled with the Gaelic cultural
revival was to contribute significantly to the national resurgence,
impelling many to join a variety of organisations, some that were
heavily infiltrated by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Eamonn’s
passion for the Irish language (aged 15, changed surname from Kent to
Ceannt) propelled him into the ranks of the Gaelic League, a movement to
promote Irish as a spoken and literary language, persevere Ireland’s
national identity and “de-anglicise” the Irish people. He was an
accomplished piper and conducive to the Irish music revival of the time.
In 1908, he travelled with a group of Irish athletes to Rome where he
played the pipes before Pope Pius X.

The Gaelic League, as it did to so many, politicised and radicalised
Eamonn’s already advancing beliefs. He joined Arthur Griffith’s Sinn
Fein Organisation in 1907, compelled by its “commitment to Irish
Independence” and was to rise through its ranks. Four years later, in
1911, he was sworn into the IRB by Sean MacDermott, a fellow signatory
to the Irish Proclamation. With the militant threat posed by the
initiation of the Ulster Volunteers, Eamonn stated in 1913, “it is the
duty of all Irishmen to be skilled in the use of arms. Preparation for
War is the best guarantee of peace.” Soon after, he was involved in the
establishment of the Irish Volunteers. Quickly, Eamonn became a member
of the Provisional Committee and a leading figure within the movement.
He was to play a key active role in financing and arming the Volunteers
and was involved in the Howth gunrunning of July 1914. Following the
split in the Volunteers, Eamonn was elected financial secretary and was
appointed commandant of the 4th Battalion in March 1915.

On 9th September 1914, Eamonn convened a crucial meeting involving
leaders of the IRB Supreme Council at 25 Parnell Square which agreed to
use the War as an opportunity to strike a blow for Irish freedom. In May
1915, Eamonn was co opted onto the Military Council of the IRB along
with Patrick Pearse and Joseph Plunkett with the sole objective of
putting plans in place for an armed rebellion. Many of the meetings of
the Military Council were held at Eamonn’s residence in Dolphin’s Barn.

On Easter Monday, 24th April 1916, Eamonn took command of 120 Volunteers
at the South Dublin Union. During Easter week, the 4th Battalion held
off a number of sustained attacks by the vastly superior British
military. The fighting became an intense hand to hand struggle, but
Eamonn’s military expertise and bravery ensured his men held their
position as the British failed to take the garrison. His calm leadership
under pressure and that of Cathal Brugha during the intense fighting and
bombardment was praised and recognised by the men of the South Dublin
Union. On Sunday 30th April 1916, Thomas MacDonagh broke the news of
the surrender to Eamonn. Under direct orders from the Provisional
Government, Eamonn reluctantly surrendered. Major Rotherham who oversaw
the surrender of the South Dublin Union was astonished such a tiny band
of men held off two major assaults by the British. Eamonn led his men
from the South Dublin Union, “a brave band who fought a clean fight for
Ireland” (Father Augustine) where he ordered his battalion to lay down
their arms and equipment.

In the gymnasium of Richmond Barracks, in the aftermath of the Rising,
Eamonn Ceannt was picked out by the Dublin Metropolitan Police
detectives, known as “G men.” At his court martial on Wednesday 3rd May
1916, presided over by General Blackader, Eamonn pleaded, “not guilty.”
After hearing evidence, Eamonn’s closing address to the court was
“remarkable in its clarity.” On the back of his charge sheet, it read,
“shall not deny anything proven or admit what is not proven.” The next
day, Eamonn was found guilty as charged. He was sentenced to death by
being shot. On the early morning of 8th May 1916, Eamonn, after taking
Holy Communion from Father Augustine, in a letter to his wife wrote, “I
die a noble death for Ireland’s freedom.” He walked to the
Stonebreakers Yard of Kilmainham Gaol, hands tied behind his back, a
cloth around his eyes, a small square piece of paper acting as a target
for the 12 man firing squad. At dawn, 4.05am, with Father Augustine’s
crucifix in his hand, Eamonn Ceannt echoed his last words, “My Jesus
Mercy” before the executor shots rang out.

Eamonn’s brother, Bill, was a soldier with the Royal Dubliner Fusiliers.
Having spent the opening phase of World War One stationed in Fermoy,
County Cork, Bill was charged at a court martial for giving stolen food
to Thomas Kent. The same Thomas Kent who was executed in Cork Jail for a
gunfight with the RIC in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.
Bill was posted to the Western Front on 11th September 1916. During the
Battle of the Somme, in November that year, he was seriously wounded and
eventually promoted to Company Sergeant-Major. During the Battle of
Arras, in early 1917, Bill was struck down by machine gun fire during an
advance of enemy lines and subsequently died from his wounds. The Ceannt
family received a scroll admonishing him amongst those who answered the
call of King and Country, “let those who come after see to it that his
name not be forgotten.”

The legacy of the Easter Rising and the wave of sympathy that swept the
country in its aftermath ensured Eamonn’s War was more accepted than
Bill’s War. Eamonn Ceannt in his last letter was perhaps right, “In the
years to come, Ireland will honour those who risked all for her honour
at Easter 1916.” Bill’s name and many thousands of other Irishmen who
were killed and maimed in the First World War, were the names that for
decades would be forgotten and ignores. Brothers by blood, yet their
blood spilled in a commitment to very different allegiances, one to
Ireland and the other to Britain. Perhaps, the words of Eamonn as true
to himself as that of his brother, Bill, “This generation can claim to
have raised sons as brave as any that went before.”