on this day in history

1918 - Irish Labour Party declares one-day strike in protest over conscription act

1938 - Anglo-Irish agreements on defence, finance and trade end the 'Economic War': the 'Treaty' ports are ceded by Britain; the Irish Government pays £10 million to settle financial claims; both sides repeal penal duties on imports

1945 - U.S. and Soviet forces met at Torgau, Germany on Elbe River.

1998 - The first ever mass demonstrations against immigration laws and racism take place in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. At the same time, protests are staged by Irish people outside embassies all over Europe and the United States. Dublin edges close to a standstill as more than 1,000 protesters march from St Stephen's Green to the GPO

On the second day of the Easter Rising -

Following the Proclamation of the Republic yesterday and the occupation by the rebels of several key buildings in Dublin, along with the first shots and casualties fired, overnight saw a wave of looting hit the city centre, especially O' Connell Street.

The British commander, Brigadier-General Lowe, arrived in Dublin early this morning from his headquarters in the Curragh. He had been notified by telephone overnight that a rebellion was in progress, and during the night he ordered the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Brigade to assemble outside the city. A special train was organised to perform this task, and by the morning of the second day of the Rising, around 1,300 British troops were in the outskirts of Dublin. General Lowe assumed command of these men, and upon being notified of the rebel positions, determined to secure a line running from Dublin Castle, Trinity College and the Amiens Street railway station, thus cutting the rebel positions in half. He also informed his superiors in England of the situation and requested reinforcements. Over the course of the second day, these British reinforcements were assembling and preparing to make an overnight sailing to Kingstown.

During the second day, the British troops moved into position. They moved slowly, as Lowe was unsure of the size of the rebel force he was up against. Combat was sporadic, mainly both sides taking pot-shots at each other, but around lunchtime a British machine gun unit took up a position on the fourth floor of the Shelbourne Hotel on St. Stephen's Green and opened up on the rebels in the College of Surgeons.

In the Mendicity Institute (now Heuston's Fort), Seán Heuston and 26 Volunteers were being surrounded by British troops. Their orders, given by James Connolly, were to hold the Institute for three to four hours and delay the British advance into the city centre. Now, cut off, Heuston and his men dug in and prepared for the British onslaught.

Later, the British made a concerted attack upon City Hall. This building was occupied by Seán Connolly and his brigade - yesterday, they had attacked Dublin Castle, killing a sentry and overrunning the gates, but did not press home their attack upon the largely unguarded building. The British attack on City Hall was a complete success - within a short time, Connolly and his unit had surrendered.

It was by now obvious that MacNeill's orders countermanding a turnout for yesterday had hit the rebels hard - their numbers were much lower than expected. With the city centre filling up with British troops surrounding each individual rebel position, the situation looked grim. In a building near the GPO - Reis's - the rebels set up a radio antenna and began broadcasting on it at midday, informing the people of Dublin how the fighting was progressing.

The northern end of the British cordon was set by Lowe at Amiens Street station. A part of British soldiers began to repair the damaged train line near the Sloblands, and came under heavy fire from rebels on the Annesley Bridge. In two hours fighting, the British suffered many casualties, but their sheer numbers drove the rebels off the bridge. This allowed the British to bring up four pieces of artillery which had arrived on a train from Athlone.

By nightfall on the second day of the Rising, there were over 5,000 British soldiers in the city centre, vastly outnumbering the rebels. As darkness fell, the shooting died down...

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