Sean Connolly, an actor who embodied ideals of the rising, was born in the country was raised in the heart of Dublin, and a model Irish nationalist, resultant from his passions for Iris cultural history, the Irish language and Irish sport. As his life progressed, he became more involved with political organizations such as the Gaelic League and the Irish Citizen’s Army however his prominent passion was for the theater. He acted in 51 productions at the Abbey Theatre from 1913 to 1916. mn H is lead role in James Connolly’s Under Which Flag cemented his image in the context of the famed Abbey Theater. This was among his first opportunities to act on his passion for Irish nationalism and Irish culture, and it was his last act in the interest of independence that ended in fitting dramatic tragedy.
The politics of Connolly’s piece are skewered with the perspectives of an elder, a young man, women and a soldiering man devoted to the cause of nationhood. Connolly begins training for the Rising around the time of this production and promptly obtains the rank of Captain. He leads the twenty men and women of the 2nd Company of the Irish Citizens Army to charge Dublin Castle. Once inside the Castle, Connolly or one of his men immediately shot and killed an unarmed Sergeant James O’Brien of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, and survivors of the company report that Connolly regretted the killing. This is often referenced as the very first casualty of the Rising. The company was under the impression that the castle was guarded by armed Royal Irish Constabulary soldiers however, they fail to discover that this is not the case.
After leaving the castle, the company took a second position at Dublin City Hall, and was tasked with slowing the English reinforcements while the GPO was fortified. Connolly, had acquired the keys to City hall in the weeks prior at his clerk job. While the position was taken, Captain Connolly set atop the roof of the building allegedly to raise the Green flag that had been used in his performance of Under Which Flag at the Abbey Theatre. While on the roof, Connolly was tragically sighted and executed by a distant sharpshooter situated in the castle from which they had come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IOZo0UC4Z0
Connolly, his brothers, and Helena Moloney failed in their overarching goal in the beginning of the Rising, so their significance is not derived from some great tactical achievement by any means but from their representation of the Abbey Theatre as a center for Irish cultural propensity, in physical force nationalism. The stage met the battlefield atop Dublin City Hall that Easter Monday and the actions of actors and men of Irish culture cemented the Theatre in the story of Irish Independence for generations. In this way, Sean Connolly achieves his own Martyrdom, by fighting for a cause he saw just, and benefiting the institution he loves so dearly. It is contradictory however thatthe outcome of the eventual establishment of independence, would lead to more financially troubling times for the Theatre especially after losing access to supportive funds from London theater-lovers.
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