The Funeral: Part Two

At 2.25pm on Sunday 1 August 1915 Rossa’s coffin was placed on a hearse led by four horses and departed for Glasnevin fifteen minutes later. The organisation of the procession was the responsibility of Thomas MacDonagh. The St. James’s Band followed by Dublin members of the Irish Volunteers and their mounted section led it. Next came the hearse, flanked by a guard of honour comprising of veterans of the Fenian movement and members of the Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army and Fianna Éireann. Rossa’s widow and daughter came next in a carriage accompanied by Father Michael O’Flanagan who was to conduct the service. Immediately behind were members of various organisations and bodies representing a wide cross section of Irish society and politics. These included various companies of the Irish Volunteers from all parts of the country, members of the Irish National Volunteers, Hibernian Rifles and Cumann na mBan. Also represented were a large number of trade societies, public bodies, the Gaelic Athletic Association, Irish National Foresters, Ancient Order of Hibernians and numerous other groups. The crowd following the hearse was estimated at 5,000 and it took just under one hour for the cortege to march past a fixed point. It was also estimated that about ten times that figure lined the streets on the way to the cemetery.

The procession began at a slow pace to the sounds of the Death March but soon quickened to the tones of more triumphant marching music. The funeral organisers had every intention of making history and it was hoped that as many people would witness it as possible. Turning up George’s Street they made their way to St. Stephen’s Green, down Dawson Street to College Green and across the Liffey making their way to Parnell Square. From here the cortege cut across to the Phibsborough Road and continued on towards Glasnevin Cemetery.

Given the scale of the procession and the distance it covered it was understandable that it took over three hours to reach the gates of the cemetery arriving at 6pm. Thousands of people had gathered at the entrance but admittance was regulated and ticketed by the organisers. The remains of Rossa were brought into the mortuary chapel under the shadow of the O’Connell tower and prayers were recited. The coffin was then carried the short distance to the grave. Here those admitted to the graveside formed a square and Father O’Flanagan recited the burial service and prayers in Irish. When he was finished Patrick Pearse stepped forward to deliver the funeral oration, a speech that would leave its mark on Irish history.

As Pearse finished the crowd stood in silence for some moments before breaking into applause and cheers. Then, in a further act of defiance, the firing party stood forward and fired three volleys over the grave, followed by the Last Post.

Many would later see those volleys as the first shots of the 1916 Rising and as Pearse dictated a new generation had at this moment stepped forward, aware of their predecessors but determined to shape their own destiny.