Joseph Mary Plunkett (1887-1916) was a Dublin nationalist involved in the Irish nationalist struggle of the early 1900s. A great writer, poet and politician, he was one of the main leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.
Joseph Plunkett was born in Dublin on November 21, 1887, and as a child suffered from tuberculosis, forcing his parents to move to places much warmer and less humid than Ireland. Plunkett soon discovered the shores of the Mediterranean, both in Europe and North Africa.
When he returned to Dublin, it was to pursue his Jesuit studies at Belvedere College. A brilliant student, he eventually left Dublin for Lancashire, where he studied at Stonyhurst College.
By the end of his studies, Plunkett was a highly educated man, with a passion for Irish culture, poetry and Gaelic heritage. He then met Thomas MacDonagh, a writer with similar passions, with whom he would form a lifelong friendship. Together, the 2 friends discovered politics, and rubbed shoulders with Dublin’s nationalist circles.
As early as 1913, their enthusiasm for this political passion led Plunkett and MacDonagh to enlist in the Irish Volunteers militia, a newly-created military organization. Their enrolment in this army made them “members of the provisional committee”.
During these years, Plunkett never ceased to sensitize his family to the nationalist cause. In particular, he convinced his father of the merits of nationalism, and asked him to lend one of his properties for use as a training camp for Irishmen refusing conscription into the British army during the 14/18 war. But Plunkett’s father wasn’t the only one to embrace the nationalist cause, and Plunkett’s brothers (John and George Plunkett) were also seduced by it.
In 1911, Plunkett published a collection of poems entitled “The Circle and the Sword”, in which he recounts his love of Ireland, its history and his Christian faith. In Dublin, he was praised by many for his talent, and Plunkett decided to write again. His second collection, however, was not published until after his death, posthumously.
In 1915, things accelerated for Plunkett, who decided to join the IRB or Irish Republican Broterhood, a secret revolutionary organization determined to foment revolt by 1916. To help organize the insurrection, Plunkett is sent to Germany to assist Roger Casement in his negotiations with the German head of state. They demanded the release of Irish prisoners of war to swell the ranks of their army, as well as money and full German support for the Irish cause. Germany agrees, and guarantees them a forthcoming shipment of weapons for Dublin.
Meanwhile, Plunkett returned to Ireland, and actively organized what would become the Easter Rising of 1916. At the time, Plunkett was considered a shrewd strategist, and the entire BRI listened to him when it came to fomenting a plan to take over the city’s main buildings. Plunkett’s strategy was a bold one, based on the element of surprise, enabling the Nationalists to take Dublin in less than a week.
Unfortunately, shortly before the Insurrection, Plunkett was hospitalized for the tuberculosis that had never left him. He underwent surgery to relieve the pain, but Plunkett was very weak at the time. However, he decided to leave the hospital as soon as his operation was completed, determined to take part in the revolt.
When the Easter Rising began, Plunkett took over Dublin’s Central Post Office, along with Patrick Pearse, Thomas J. Clarke and Michael Collins. His condition did not allow him to fight actively in the battle, but his strategic orders were followed to the letter.
Despite the efforts of the nationalists, the Easter Rising of 1916 was crushed by the British in less than a week, and the main leaders of the Rising were imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol, one of Ireland’s most terrible prisons. Plunkett was also interned there, then brought before the Court Martial, where he was condemned to be shot. A few hours before his execution, he reportedly asked to be married to Grace Gifford, a young Irish woman who had recently converted to Catholicism. (Grace Gifford’s sister is said to have married Thomas MacDonagh).
Once married, Plunkett was shot in the courtyard of Kilmainham Gaol.
