AS A small, cosmopolitan European capital, Dublin is a delight to visit. Georgian mansions recalling its role as the second city of the British Isles alternate with boutiques and cafés, buzzing with chatter in Spanish or Polish. And in the smart centre, the economic upturn is now palpable. On paper at least, the country has rebounded from recession and bail-out, posting GDP growth last year of 7.8%, five times the euro-zone average.
But there is something else in the spring air. Adorning many handsome facades there are sepia posters of men bearing rifles. Over Easter weekend, the bustle will cease as Ireland commemorates a founding moment: the weeklong uprising in 1916, during the first world war; it is recalled in British annals as a stab in the imperial back and in Irish ones as a heroic self-sacrifice.
The execution of its leaders, as much as the Easter Rising itself, triggered a maelstrom of events: a surge of anti-British rage and harsh counter-repression; a treaty in 1921 establishing two Irish parliaments (a northern one inside the United Kingdom, a southern one outside); and a civil war between supporters and opponents…
