The History

Willie Pearse

Willie was the younger brother of Pádraic Pearse, the Provisional President of the Irish Republic, yet Willie was only a private in the Volunteers during the Easter Rising. This shows that nepotism did not have a place within the ranks of the Volunteers but young Willie was shot by the British after the Rising simply because of his elder sibling. Willie was stationed in the GPO, where he stood by Pádraic's side untill the surrender order came. After the Rising, Willie was executed in Kilmainham Gaol on the 4th of May 1916.