It’s been a busy year for AM:PM PR and we missed our own annual St. Patrick’s Day gathering. To make up for it, we’re hosting a uniquely Irish Speakeasy.

We’re organizing a special commemoration of a pivotal historical event for the Irish – the 100-year anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916. We’ll be offering Pat’s world-famous Irish Coffee to help set the mood for a compelling presentation by respected local historians who will explore the role prominent Portlanders played during the Irish rebellion a century ago.

About the Easter Rising of 1916

100 years ago a group of armed men and women gathered across Ireland – then part of the British Empire – and took part in an armed rebellion to declare an Irish Republic, free from British rule.

This event is known as the “Easter Rising” and the ensuing battle proceeded as you might expect. Despite the fact that Britain was heavily engaged in World War I at the time, the Empire gathered thousands of troops and routed the Irish volunteers after a brief confrontation.

The intriguing story is rife with drama – miscommunications and counter orders from competing Irish leaders to both fight and stand down, a captured German u-Boat that would have provided adequate weapons for the Irish side, and remarkable female heroines like the famed Countess Markievicz, who later became the first woman to be elected to the British House of Commons.

After the British executed the leaders of the Easter Rising rebellion (including my distant uncle, Sean MacDiarmada), the Irish people reacted in shock. The collective anger towards the perceived overreaction of the British, and ensuing revolution, led to the formal recognition of 26 counties that would become what we know today as the Republic of Ireland.

Our Featured Speakers

Two guest speakers, David O’longaigh and Chuck Duffy, from Portland’s chapter of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians discuss what they know about Ireland’s 1916 rebellion and its support base in Portland at the time.

They will also be previewing an event to be held at Kells on Sunday, April 24 that will include dramatic readings from Portland’s Corrib Irish Theatre and renditions of popular Irish folk songs.

Brush Up On Irish History In 8 Minutes