#OnThisDay 1916 John MacBride was executed in Kilmainham Gaol. The Rising took took him by surprise as he was in Dublin by chance visiting his brother, but he ended up joining in and was second in command in Jacob’s Factory. His role leading the Irish Transvaal Brigade in South Africa against Britain sealed his fate. At his execution, he asked not to be blindfolded and said:
“I have looked down the muzzles of too many guns in the South African war to fear death and now please carry out your sentence.”
The Irish at War 