Peadar Kearney, Easter Rising 1916 rebel and Abbey Theatre staff member.

This photograph of Peadar Kearney, Abbey Theatre stage hand, scenic artist and occasional actor, was taken by the theatre's carpenter Seaghan Barlow. Kearney is shown backstage at the old Abbey Theatre. An active member of the Gaelic League, Irish Republican Brotherhood (I.R.B.) and Na Fianna Éireann, he served in the Easter Rising 1916 with 'B' Company Battalion and is well known for his ballad 'A Soldier's Song' . In 1907 he set the words of his ballad to music composed by Patrick Heeney. Later it was adopted as the Irish National Anthem.