Lethal legacy of Pearse's oration at the graveside of O'Donovan Rossa

A composite picture of Patrick Pearse, courtesy of RTÉ

Dermot Meleady

On Sunday, August 1, 1915, 100 years ago this month, Patrick Pearse delivered a coded call to arms at the grave of O'Donovan Rossa.

Born in Rosscarbery, Co Cork, and later a shopkeeper in Skibbereen, O'Donovan Rossa was 34 years old when he was arrested in 1865 along with other members of Fenian secret society The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and charged with plotting rebellion. Sentenced to penal servitude for life, he was released and exiled five years later to the US where he spent the rest of his life in the murky world of emigré extremist groups such as Clan-na-Gael.