Remembering the Rising - Soldiers kill Guinness workers

Continuing United Irelander's look back at the Easter Rising as we approach the 90th anniversary of the rebellion, today I will focus on yet some more innocent Irish civilians brutally murdered by British soldiers during the Rising.

These civilians were Guinness workers who were murdered by members of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. (The following information is taken from a supplement in the Irish Times) :

"There were many serious incidents during the week including the shooting dead of a number of Guinness workers by government soldiers, according to a contemporary report in the Weekly Irish Times.

"'William John Rice, a night clerk in the Guinness brewery, along with Lieut A Lucas of the 2nd King Edwards horse regiment, was shot dead at his place of work, by members of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, on Friday, April 28th. It appears the two men were making their nightly round of the brewery buildings when they were challenged by very nervous and jumpy Royal Dubliners. The soldiers later claimed they had caught Sinn Féiners infiltrating the brewery premises, and shot them. Another officer and a civilian brewery employee, Lieut Worswick and Mr Dockeray, also a Guinness worker, were shot dead around the same time.

"'These deaths caused considerable concern as the victims were known not to have any sympathy for the rebel cause. Company Quarter Master Sergeant Robert Flood was subsequently court-martialled for the first two deaths. In evidence for the defence it was argued that Lucas and Rice had shown signs of Sinn Féin sympathies. The judge was quick to point out that no such evidence had been produced in the case of Lucas. The managing director of Guinness issued a statement saying, on behalf of the company, that neither Rice nor Dockeray 'was in any way connected with, or in sympathy with the Sinn Féin rebellion'.'

"In the event the accused man was acquitted. "The result was received with applause in court", the Weekly Irish Times reported, having devoted much space to an issue which, like the shooting of Francis Sheehy Skeffington, clearly troubled many of its readers."

Yet MORE murders on the part of the British. What's horrific about this is that not only were these innocent Irishmen killed in cold blood, the perpetrators actually blackened their name to get away with it and even more disgracefully, the Company Quarter Master Sergeant, Robert Flood, actually did get away with it!

More evidence that the British handling of the rebellion was devoid of morals and decency from top to bottom!

Let us just be grateful that the Easter Rising revealed to the Irish people the true colours of their British masters and that it helped inspire the people to cast off the yoke of British oppression.

For that we should be grateful to the 1916 rebels. Let us remember their courage.