Military pushed legal matters to one side before it lined 1916 rebels up against the wall

General John Maxwell ignored calls from the viceroy to spare the lives of those on the periphery of the Rising and instead pursued martial justice, allowing defendants little more than 10 minutes in their ‘trials’ to tell their side of the story, writes Sean Enright

When the First World War broke out, the British parliament passed the Defence of the Realm Act, which allowed the court martial of civilians in the event of “military emergency or invasion”.

The Easter Rising was the first big test of this legislation. With 450 dead and half of Dublin city centre in ruins, the circumstances were ripe for the rule of law to be compromised.