FRIENDLY FIRE

With adrenalin pumping through their young veins some of the first casualties of the Easter Rising were caused by accident. The first fatalities of the Rising were Con Keating, Donal Sheehan and Charlie Monaghan who were drowned at Ballykissane Pier in County Kerry on their mission to meet with the German arms shipment. When the rebels stormed the GPO accidental discharging led to a number of casualties and one rebel who used the butt of his shotgun to attempt to gain entry to a room on the second floor, blew the left ear off himself when the knock on the door discharged his weapon. Other casualties were caused by the improper detonation of homemade explosives.