1916

This episode traces events in Ireland and abroad leading to the preparations for the Rising. The themes and events covered include the rise of cultural nationalism, the re-emergence of the separatist physical force tradition, the contested traditions of nationalism and unionism, the rise of organized labour, the role of women, the role of Irish America and the influence of the diaspora and international political movements.

Episode two tells the dramatic story of the Rising itself; the way in which the clandestine and separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood infiltrated the Irish Volunteer Movement; the attempt to secure assistance from Britain's enemy Germany; the arrest of Roger Casement and the botched gun-running off the coast of Ireland immediately before the Rising; the confusion surrounding the order and countermand for a call up of the Irish Volunteers on Easter Sunday; British Intelligence awareness of what was planned and an apparent lack of readiness to tackle what happened on Easter Monday.

The concluding episode details the aftermath and response to the Rising in Ireland and abroad. The initial reaction of many Dubliners to the Rising gave way to a grudging respect that grew exponentially with the British response. The rebellion, while ostensibly a failure, created the conditions for a national revolution and changed the course of Irish history.