NATIONALIST AND LEINSTER TIME 30 June 1916
A fund has been inaugurated to provide for the relatives of those in Dublin and in other parts of Ireland who have suffered through the recent rebellion. There are in all 3,300 cases of imprisonment. The fund is under the control of the Irish National Aid Association, which has just been established. Subscriptions should be forwarded to the office of the Association, 10 Exchequer Street, Dublin.
Of the rebel leaders who were executed (ways “Wayfarer” in the “The Nation”) Major MacBride’s bearing was the most soldierly. The officer in charge of the firing party showed (I am told) some emotion. MacBride said gently, “Do not let what you have to do ever disturb your rest.” And when it was proposed to blind his eyes he refused and said, I’ve been looking down rifle-barrels all my life. Fire when l bow my head.” MacBride was a trained soldier, having held the rank of Major in the army of the South African Republic. He commanded the Irish Brigade at Glencoe during the Boer war.
Re-typed by Hannah Mustapha
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