On Saturday, 13th February 2016, a Dublin City Council plaque commemorating 1916 Easter Rising casualty Edward Walsh was unveiled in Dublin 2.
The plaque is located outside the Royal Exchange Hotel, Parliament Street, and was unveiled by relatives of Edward Walsh and councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha, who in his speech described the Dublin carter as “a brave Irish patriot, a man who fought for and died for the freedom of the Irish people 100 years ago”.
Locate this plaque on Google maps.
A member of the Hibernian Rifles, Walsh was mortally wounded in the stomach at the beginning of the Easter Rising, close to the spot where the plaque is located. He was 43 years old and left behind a pregnant wife and two young children, who lived nearby at 8 Lower Dominick Street. Walsh’s wife Ellen gave birth to a third son, Edward Pearse Walsh, months after her husband had been buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.
The plaque ceremony was attended by four of Edward Walsh’s granddaughters and a great-grandson.
Those wishing to learn more about the marginal nationalist militia with which Walsh fought during the Easter Rising should consult Padraig Og O’Ruairc’s article ‘A Short History of the Hibernian Rifles 1912-1916’ for The Irish Story website.
Submitted by Historian in Residence, James Curry.