'Was it for this?'

Historian asks what Easter Rising's Pearse and Connolly would make of Ireland today

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THE Easter Rising was a turning point for Irish history, and led to İrish independence.

But as we mark its anniversary, how would the leaders of the 1916 rebellion view Ireland today?

In this essay for Easter Sunday, historical entertainer Paddy Cullivan reflects on what the likes of Pearse and Connolly would think about issues such as women's rights, housing and the culture wars.

Was it for this? is a homonym Irish people use every day. Normally, it applies to the men and women of 1916 and how they might view modern Ireland.

Taken from WB Yeats September 1913, the phrase has long passed into common usage - but is the question valid? How indeed would James Connolly, Patrick Pearse and the rest view the Ireland of today? We can only interpret this through the defining document they wrote and signed their names to the Proclamation. Irishmen and Irish women is an aspirational opener, addressing all the people of the country, despite the fact women wouldn't have the right to vote until 1918.

This inclusive message and its 2025 reality is something that might have pleased the signatories.