Talk of the Museum

Talk of the Museum

    In touring many of the museums and monuments of Dublin, we see a common theme among them: The Easter Rising of 1916. We have spent the majority of our trip in Ireland, namely Dublin and Galway, and therefore have been learning about the Easter Rising from the side of the people who began it. The Easter Rising for Ireland was the start of a mind set to change the way that the people were being governed; it was also a start of a change in the way that people thought of women. This was the first time that women had stood up and decided that they were going to fight on the same level as a man, that they would be equals. I think that this stand made by the women allowed the men to see their position in society differently; I think it allowed the men to trust women more and to see them as on a more equal plane. When the women were jailed with the men after the Rising, it was clear that they were going to take just as much blame as the men. One woman, Countess Markievicz was set to be executed but it was later revoked because of the fact that she was a woman. This was the only place where the equality ended for the women, in the jails they could not be executed like the men. Instead, they were often released after not much more than a few months, or transferred to other prisons. Throughout our time in Dublin and Galway, we saw a strong and proud side of the Rising. A time when good things were able to begin happening for Ireland, they would eventually be able to gain their independence because of the fact that the Rising put in place a chain of events that was able to lead to the end goal. When we visited Belfast this story changed a little bit. In the Ulster Museum in Belfast we got to tour a 1916 exhibit but the feel in this one was different; we were quick to realize that it was because we were seeing it from the other side. We watched a video in the museum and we a bit shocked to hear the speaker say, “The Rising was a failure due to the lack of military strategy of the leaders.” She was also quick to point out how many people lost their lives, painting it was a ruthless and pointless uprising. She did not even say about how women were able to find equality, how much the other side did to make their point. She was harsh about the Irish side; I was taken aback. They thought it was a failure, but I don’t think it was. After going to both sides of the conflict and hearing about what both sides thought about it, I am on the Irish side of things. It was not a failure in that women were able to change the way that men thought about them, without the women of the Rising I don’t think that it would have lasted as long as it did and made as much of an impact on Irish culture as it did. I also think that it was able to spark the following conflicts that would lead to the independence of Ireland for good, it was truly a turning point in Irish history.