The Seven Signatories 1916 collection is a set of seven 51mm high relief art medals made to the highest quality in bronze alloy and commemorating the contribution made by the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation to the cause of Irish freedom. Each medal carries a portrait of one of the seven signatories who were court marshalled and executed for their part in the 1916 Rising. The portraits are taken from seven charcoal sketches by Irish artist Robert Ballagh from 1996 while the reverse of each show an original design created by him for the centenary of the Easter Rising.
Please click on each medal below to open full size and view detail.
1916 Proclamation of an Irish Republic
“Their name and their definition”
The Proclamation of the Republic, also known as the 1916 Proclamation or Easter Proclamation, was a document issued by the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising in Ireland. In 1915, when delivering the graveside oration at the O’Donovan Rossa funeral, Patrick Pearse referred to Irish freedom, stating that it had only one definition and that this was “Tone’s definition, Mitchel’s Definition & Rossa’s definition”. The proclamation is the embodiment of that definition. In it, the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, styling itself the “Provisional Government of the Irish Republic”, proclaimed Ireland’s independence from the United Kingdom and declared an Irish Republic where all citizens would have equal rights and equal opportunities. The reading of the proclamation by Patrick Pearse outside the General Post Office (GPO) on Sackville Street (now called O’Connell Street), Dublin’s main thoroughfare, marked the beginning of the Rising. The proclamation was modelled on a similar independence proclamation issued during the 1803 rebellion by Robert Emmet.
The medals are housed in a beautiful wooden display case which also contains a facsimile of the proclamation and numbered certificate.
The collection is a limited edition with only 2016 sets being made.
The Technical Specifications are as follows:
Weight: not less than 95g each
Thickness: Varies according to portrait relief
Marks: Diesinker mark, makers mark, Robert Ballagh monogram.
The Seven Signatories
Padraig Pearse (1879 – 1916)
Teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist, Pearse was one of the founder members of the Irish Volunteers. Pearse was present in the GPO during the Rising, and was Commander in Chief of the Irish forces. An accomplished orator, his graveside panegyric at the funeral of the veteran fenian O’Donovan Rossa is became a call to arms which culminated with the Easter Rising the following year. It is said he whistled while being led from his cell to the execution yard in Kilmainham Gaol.
Thomas Clarke (1858 – 1916)
Clarke was himself a veteran of the Fenian era. Born in England his father was a sergeant in the British army. The family moved to Co. Tyrone when Tom was seven years old. While still in his teens he joined the Fenians. In 1882 he emigrated to the United States where he joined Clan na Gael. The following year he travelled to London on a dynamiting mission but was betrayed, arrested and sentenced to penal servitude for life. He spent the next 16 years in English prisons and was released in 1898. He returned to the US where he found employment editing the Gaelic American newspaper owned by John Devoy. He returned to Ireland in 1907, setting up in business in Dublin. He helped reorganise the IRB and was one of the main architects of the Rising.
Born into rural County Leitrim, Sean Mac Diarmada was a member of many associations which promoted the cause of the Irish language, Gaelic revival and Irish nationalism in general, including the Gaelic League and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He was national organiser for Sinn Féin, and later manager of the newspaper Irish Freedom. Within the Irish Republican Brotherhood, he was a close colleague and friend of veteran republican Tom Clarke. Before his execution, Mac Diarmada wrote, “I feel happiness the like of which I have never experienced. I die that the Irish nation might live!”
Born in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary Thomas McDonagh was assistant headmaster at St. Enda’s School, Scoil Éanna, and lecturer in English at University College Dublin. He was a member of the Gaelic League, where he befriended Patrick Pearse and Eoin MacNeill. He was also a founding member of the Irish Volunteers and wrote poetry and plays. He was one of the founding member of ASTI, the association of secondary teachers. During 1914 and 1915 he developed strong republican views and joined the IRB. He was instrumental in organising the funeral of O’Donovan Rossa in 1915 which was such propaganda success mainly due to Pearse’s graveside oration. During the rising McDonagh commanded a battalion of volunteers in Jacob’s Biscuit Factory.
Joseph Plunkett (1887 – 1916)
Born to wealthy parents in Dublin Plunkett but had a difficult childhood as he had contracted TB at the age of 4. He was educated in Dublin and in England but always kept an interest in his Irish heritage. Through his friendship with Thomas McDonagh he joined the IRB in 1915 and was sent to Germany to seek help for the planned rising. He returned to Ireland and took part in the rising mainly in the GPO. He married his fiancée, Grace Gifford, a few hours before his execution in Kilmainham Gaol.
James Connolly (1868 – 1916)
Born in Scotland to Irish immigrant parents, Connolly was a union activist and avowed socialist and envisioned a Republic in which working people would share in the wealth of the Nation. A founder of the Transport Union and the Irish Labour Party he was active in the 1913 Lockout strike with James Larkin, Countess Markiewicz and others and following the collapse of the strike later in 1913 he formed the Irish Citizen Army in response to the violent actions of the Dublin Metropolitan Police against the striking workers. The Irish Citizen Army formed a large part of the rebel forces in Dublin. Connolly was wounded in the leg in the fighting around the GPO and as he was unable to stand he was executed sitting in a chair.
Born in Ballymoe, Co. Galway Eamonn Ceannt was educated in Co. Louth and in Dublin. He was a member of the Gaelic League and cofounded Cumann na bPíobairí (The Pipers Club) in 1900. He immersed himself in Gaelic culture and taught Irish in branch offices of the league. In 1907 he joined Sinn Fein and was recruited into the IRB by Sean Mac Diarmada. He was involved in the planning of the rising and commanded the 4th battalion of the Irish Volunteers in the South Dublin Union. The volunteers drove back repeated assaults of British troops seeking to gain access to the city with fierce fighting at close quarters. Ceannt obeyed the order to surrender issued by Pearse. He was tried under court martial and was executed on April 2nd aged 34.
Robert “Bobby” Ballagh (born 22 September 1943) is an Irish artist, painter and designer. He was born in Dublin and studied at the Bolton Street College of Technology. His painting style was strongly influenced by pop art. He is particularly well known for his hyper-realistic renderings of well- known Irish literary, historical or establishment figures. In 1991 he actively campaigned for a State commemoration of the 1916 Rising. He has worked with the National Graves Association in the past producing two series of prints to raise money for their activities. He lives and works in Dublin city.
National Graves Association
From each collection sold a donation will be made to the National Graves Association, a voluntary body that maintains and renovates the graves and memorials of all those who died in the cause of Irish freedom. To learn more about the NGA, its work and its history please click here.