‘Unknown’ leader Éamonn Ceannt was an ideologue

ÉAMONN CEANNT is, in many ways, the ‘unknown’ man among the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, and the signatories to the proclamation of the Irish Republic.

The son of a head constable in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), he was an unlikely revolutionary. One of Ceannt’s brothers had followed their father into the RIC and another was a professional soldier in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Ceannt himself had a secure, pensionable job in Dublin Corporation. He was very happily married and had a young son.