Mrs Costello saw the same view of the flag flying over the GPO.

A ringside seat at the Rising

Published:
Last updated:

A TUAM woman who had a ringside seat at the Easter Rising left a remarkable account of it which has never before been published.
Buried in the files of the Bureau of Military History is the witness statement of Mrs Eileen Costello of Bishop Street, Tuam.
Mrs Costello was in Dublin for a meeting of the Irish Colleges and was staying in the Gresham Hotel on O’Connell Street when the Rising broke out on Easter Monday 1916.
She stayed in the hotel for the entire week with her daughter Nuala (aged about 8 at the time), witnessed shooting from the roof of the hotel and saw the surrender on Saturday.

David Burke
    Published:
    Last updated: