When the outbreak of World War I delayed home rule for Ireland, a faction of Irish nationalists decided to take direct action. On Easter Monday 1916, a rebellion was launched from the steps of the Dublin General Post Office and the existence of an Irish Republic proclaimed. The British response was a military one and they drove the rebels back in violent street fighting until they surrendered on 29 April. The leaders of the rising were tried by court martial: 15 of them were summarily executed and a further 3,500 'sympathizers' imprisoned. This book covers this important milestone in Anglo-Irish history in detail, thoroughly examining the politics behind the Easter Rising and the tactics employed to counter it.