Following the rising, sixteen of the rebels were executed, including the seven signatories of the Independence Proclamation, whose biographies follow. James Connelly was the son of Irish immigrant parents and was born in Edinburgh in extremely straightened circumstances. The Declaration of Independence (Irish: Forógra na Saoirse, French: Déclaration d'indépendance) was a document adopted by Dáil Éireann, the revolutionary parliament of the Irish Republic, at its first meeting in the Mansion House, Dublin, on 21 January 1919. The seven signatories, Thomas J. Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada, Patrick H. Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas MacDonagh, Éamonn Ceannt and Joseph Plunkett, would all be among those court-martialled and executed after the failure of the Rising. Today we remember eight fine Irish men who were integral to the birth of America, by signing the Declaration of Independence and two more Irishmen who helped along the way. §. Three of the eight Irish signers emigrated to the new world from their Irish hometowns. The Irish-American Signers to the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was signed by fifty-six names, of whom nine were of Irish origin. They were Matthew Thornton, James Smith, George Taylor, George Reed, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Thomas Lynch, jr., Thomas McKean, Edward Rutledge, and Charles Thompson. Matthew-Thornton, born in Ireland, in 1714, signed it for New Declaration of Independence Numerous signers of the Declaration of Independence had Irish Heritage including Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the document. But for three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Ireland was not only their ancestral home, but it was also where they were born. Matthew Thornton who represented the colony of New Hampshire had immigrated to America After signing the Declaration of Independence he served as a colonel with George Washington, and later as president of Congress, a Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and the Governor of Pennsylvania. Edward Rutledge, whose father immigrated from Ireland, represented South Carolina and was at 26 the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence. ON THIS DAY in 1776, the US Declaration of Independence was signed – forever sealing July 4's place among the pantheon of iconic historical dates. Less well-known is the fact that three of its 56 signatories were born on the island of Ireland, with five more of Irish descent. The language and ideals of the Proclamation drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including the American Declaration of Independence, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and the writings of Irish nationalist leaders like Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet. Irish Declaration of IndependenceIssued at the first all Ireland Dáil Éireann at Mansion House, Dublin In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called. Signed on Behalf of the Provisional Government. As well as being a Proclamation of independence, it is also a declaration of rights. Moreover, the signatories made good this assertion by force of arms and by pledging their own lives and the lives of their comrades-in-arms to the cause of Irish freedon and the right of its people to a government of their own. The seven members of the IRB’s Military Council decided they would constitute the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic. They finalised the content of the “Proclamation of the Irish Republic” shortly before Easter 1916. The Proclamation was printed by Christopher Brady in Liberty Hall. It was printed in two parts, the top part first and then the type was reset for the bottom half Among the courageous men who signed that Declaration of Independence were eight Irish Americans, three of whom were Irish born. To sign this momentous document was an act of high treason against the British Crown. All the signers could be executed and their estates confiscated, thereby impoverishing their families. Nineteen Presidents of the United States, have claimed Irish heritage. One-third to one-half of the American troops during the Revolutionary War, and eight of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence were Irish American. There were three men who were born in Ireland that were signatories of the US Declaration of Independence. Learn about the historic document's Irish links here! Charles Carroll of Carrollton in Maryland (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832) was the only Catholic and the longest-lived signatory of the Declaration of Independence, dying at age 95. The document consisted of a number of assertions: the Rising's leaders spoke for Ireland (a claim historically made by Irish insurrectionary movements); the Rising marked another wave of attempts to achieve independence through force of arms; the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Irish Volunteers, and the Irish Citizen Army were central to the The Declaration of Independence of 1776 has been called the birth certificate of the United States. Three of its 56 signatories as well as the man who produced the first printed version had been born in Ulster. A number of others had Ulster connections, notably Thomas McKean, whose father was from the Ballymoney area of County Antrim. The seven signatories of the Irish Proclamation (from left): Padraig Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Sean MacDermott, Joseph Plunkett and Eamonn Ceannt.
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