The GPO and the Rising

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  • History: The Full Story



What happened the G.P.O. after the Rising?


During the Easter Rising of 1916, the General Post Office (GPO) was the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers. On Easter Monday of 1916, armed groups of the Irish Volunteers and the Citizen Army, commanded by Padraig Pearse and James Connolly, took over the GPO where they proclaimed the Irish Republic.

The rebels held out for a week in the GPO before surrendering to the British forces. While the interior of the GPO was destroyed by fire because of persistent shelling, the main frontage escaped serious damage.

Under the new Irish Government, reconstruction of the GPO began in 1925 and the building reopened in 1929 .

Sculpture in Honour of 1916 in the G.P.O.


Nowadays, there is a bronze statue in the GPO in Dublin in honour of the soldiers involved in the 1916 Rising. It is called
The Death of Cuchulainn by the Irish sculptor Oliver Shepard.

According to ancient Irish legend, when
Cuchulainn was wounded in battle, he tied himself to a pillar so that he could face his enemies when he died. It was only when a raven landed on his shoulder that his enemies dared to approach him.