The Cottage
The Visionary and the Revolutionary

In the heart & soul of Irish culture, history and language, set in the lush tranquil beauty of the Connemara Gaeltacht, Pearse’s Cottage awaits the curious, the amateur historians, the artists, the visitors, the writers, and the scholars of the world. Patrick Pearse’s Cottage, at Ros Muc, overlooking Lough Aroolagh, on the Wild Atlantic Way, in County Galway, is always ready to impart an abundance of literature, culture, poetry and history, to all who cross the threshold and step into ‘the parlour’.  

            Patrick Pearse’s parents were James, a stone mason and sculptor, and Margaret (nee Brady) Pearse, a highly educated lady, who studied Irish, English, and French at University College Dublin, and law at Trinity College. Patrick was the second child, born on November 10. 1879 in Great Brunswick Street, (now bearing his name ‘Pearse Street’) in Dublin City. He attended the Christian Brothers School in Westland Row along with his younger brother Willie. Pearse graduated with a B.A. from The Royal University in 1901, and despite being called to the Bar, pursued a different path. He had some years earlier, discovered his love for the Irish language. This intimate passion led him to the Gaelic League which he joined in 1893, rising, in 1903 to Editor of the Leagues newspaper (The Sword of Light) at the age of 24, which he held for six years. His extensive writings and dealing with the Irish language, created in him, a growing interest in education and its delivery, and it was education that was to be his main focus for the rest of his short life                                                         

Portrait of Patrick Pearse by Lafayette Studio in Westmorland Street, Dublin. Circa 1910

In 1905, Patrick Pearse set sail for Europe, to specifically study the successful bilingualism in the schools of Flanders, where Flemish was taught alongside the official state language of French. From his experience in Belgium, Patrick began working on the theory that in order for the Irish language to survive and possibly thrive, the entire educational system, which was more than hostile to the Irish Language for decades, needed to be radically overhauled. In 1908, after writing many articles on the situation, Pearse committed to opening an all Irish school called St. Enda’s in Ranalagh. Within a couple of years, St. Enda’s became a success and moved to a more spacious 18^th century house and parkland, ‘The Hermitage’ in leafy Rathfarnham, in the Dublin south suburbs. His explanation for the financially risky move was that if “St. Enda’s had the highest aim in education of any school in Ireland, it must have the worthiest home”. Rathfarnham proved a bit of a financial milestone and while it was a most suitable home for St. Enda’s, the property’s high lease and running costs needed almost continuous fund raising, but the school continued operating up until 1935. It is now the Pearse Museum at St. Enda’s Park, Rathfarnham co. Dublin.

        Meanwhile, back in Ros Muc in Connemara, an area that Pearse considered the last remaining outpost of a Gaelic civilisation, his great Aunt Margaret had instilled in his memory great stories of folklore, legends and old tales, through his childhood years.  The rugged beauty and unique atmosphere of the Connemara coast kept those memories alive down through the years. Every summer Patrick would spend a portion of his summers soaking up the local folklore stories and language of the region and in 1905, decided to buy a plot of land at Ros Muc in order to build a summer retreat and home. While he visited Ros Muc regularly through the years, it took almost four years to manually build the cottage, because of time and financial restraints. Set on a most scenic elevated site overlooking Lough Aroolagh, with the famous Twelve Bens Mountains as the backdrop, the thatched cottage served as a relaxing retreat from the bustling city. Over the next few years many well-known names in republicanism, enjoyed the tranquil surroundings for uninterrupted planning and meetings as Patrick Pearse slowly became an Irish Revolutionary. In 1913 he joined the IRB, becoming the Director of Military Organisation in 1914. Later that year he was co-opted into the IRB secretive Military Council, (which organised the volunteers for the Easter Rising in 1916). Pearse’s very last visit to Ros Muc was in 1915, where he composed his famous oration which he delivered at the funeral of O’Donavan Rossa at Glasnevin Cemetery. In April (Easter) the following year he delivered the proclamation of Independence from the steps of The GPO in O’Connell’s Street in Dublin (The Headquarters of the Easter Rising)

           After surrendering at the GPO a few days into the revolution, on the morning of May 3. 1916, Patrick Pearse was executed by an English firing squad, in the yard of Kilmainham Jail, alongside his comrades Thomas Clarke and Thomas McDonagh. His brother Willie was executed the following morning.      

            Pearse’s Cottage at Ros Muc was used on rare occasions by the Pearse family and was targeted by the Black & Tans in 1921 and burned to the ground. Over the next few years it was fully restored by local people and was eventually bequeted to the state officially in 1968. In 2016, a contemporary and spacious centre was built, for visitors, scholars and historians alike. The centre professionally provided Irish Language studies, information and a comprehensive history of the cottage, alongside Pearse’s poetry and writings. Patrick Pearse is one of Irelands most significant citizens and is remembered as a scholar, poet, visionary, revolutionary and martyr for Irish Freedom. He was the first President of the Irish Republic and commander in chief of Irish forces in the anti-English Easter Rising in 1916. As an educator, a leading expert on education at the time Ó Buachalla stated that “The principles on which he conducted St Enda's, the wide curriculum on offer, his concern for the individual student's needs, the environment of self-motivation and freedom which he created for his pupils, placed him in the front rank of innovative European thinkers on education of his time”.

Patrick Pearse was 36 years old when he was executed