Believe that we too love freedom and desire it. To us it is more than anything else in the world. If you strike us down now, we shall rise again, and renew the fight. You cannot conquer Ireland; you cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom, then our children will win it by a better deed.
Patrick Pearse, at his 1916 court-martial, prior to his execution.
1 reply on “Patrick Pearse”
Victories are often got by bringing a party with much greater power to one’s side.
The independence of the Catholic-majority counties of Ireland was a concession by the United Kingdom to the United States, whose support the United Kingdom needed in its conflict with Germany.