Historian calls for 28 children killed in 1916 Easter Rising to be remembered

I,ll have to go back and have a jar with ya and give you a reality check me aul pal

Seaneen: ~ me old sea-go-tia, your leaky old rustbucket is lost with all hands, I'm afraid. ~ being so far removed by time and space from , doesn't mean you can sit there making Irish history up - to suit yourself! Holystone yer decks again,m'lad,until they are shipshape and "Bristol Fashion!" You must be proud your father later served on the modest little vessel that played such a vital part in bringing that little "Dublin Difficulty" to a swift and decisive end after only a few days!.

The helga had royal navy personnel on board there was no Irish government until 1918.BTW my father served on the "MUIRCHU" from 1943.Youir twisted view of history is amusing.

Aah Seaneen, now: if 'Helga II' was laid down and built on the Liffey, that makes her not only Irish, but a Dublin vessel! She was designed to patrol and protect Irish Fishing Grounds. She was in the service of the Irish Government for the benefit of the Irish people. ~ ~ ~ No doubt the use of her single gun effected the course of the local disturbance, and by leading to an early surrender, may have prevented a greater loss of life had the trouble continued. The Dubliners who built 'Helga II' (later 'Muirchu') should be proud of her and the part she played in protecting Dublin City from total destruction.

Yes, honor those women and children.

Towngate the helga was re-armed in 1936 and purchased in that year by the Irish government and re-named "MUIRCHU" It was a British vessel.

Very good point by Dr. Matthew, and honoring the memories of those children in connection with the anniversary is a great idea, BUT, Irish Central: why in the world did you illustrate this story with that sketch?? It has nothing to do with 1916, it is, in fact, from a book written about the "Irish Rebellion of 1641", back in the Cromwellian era. At that time an uprising took place by Irish Catholics in Ulster and led to atrocities against Irish Protestants. For the usual political reasons accounts of those atrocities became more and more exagerated and inflamed; historians point out that the number of Protestants partisan tracts reported killed would have far outnumbered the actuall population of Irish Protestants at the time; another example of the sensationalist reporting of the day was the fantasy the rape and disembowelment of pregnant Protestant women was widespread; this illustration was copied from a book which spread that calumny. WHAT in the world is it doing here???

AK: Please explain the bizarre choice of illustration to your piece. ~~~ Seano: The "Helga" was an Irish ship; born and bred,and with a single gun mounted on her bow, could hardly be described as " a Gunship" as we might use the term. Naturally, she had to establish a clear line of fire' to the GPO. I doubt she fired indiscriminately. ~ ~ ~ The children of Dublin should be remembered and the crimes of those who callously caused their deaths, should be revisited!

The british gunship "helga" motored up the liffey firing indiscriminately.The ship was later purchased by the free state government.The catholic church turned it's back on the Irish when they accepted Maynooth,thousands of pounds and wine /food rations (for all priests).The hierarchcy buttered it,s bread with the droppings of the empire.BTW the children should be honoured along with the 135 murdered by the British since then

silence is so irish - 1798 is largely forgotton - the irish are surprizingly silent such as posited in a BBC program on that united irish screwed-up effort. Another of the many tried. Believing we're all to come together in the hereafter stupifies 'em.

Regarding Collette2, even the Whig historian Macaulay credited the Catholic church with protecting the people, including women and children, against the powerful in days gone by. Anti-Catholic venom does a disserve not just to the church, but especially the hundreds of thousands of women who devoted their lives to the care of women and children in Christ's name.

Have to agree on this one. Honour them.

Totally agree. Those children should be honored. Their families deserve this recognition. All revolutions with a moral purpose are carried out for the sake of the future, of the children.

Wonderful proposal. Women and children are often the victims of the horrors of war as noted in the Middle East and Africa today.

Very sad, all those children of little consequence. Athough on the other side of the penny, many mothers and children remain invisible today, because they don't fit comfortably with the church's view of any century.