1.
Thomas Clarke
By Orlaith (6th)

2. Early Life!!
Thomas Clarke was born on March 11, 1858 in Hampshire, England.
His parents Mary Palmer and James Clarke were Irish.
His father James Clarke was in the British Army.
In 1865 Thomas Clarke moved to Tyrone where Thomas grew up.

3. Irish Republican Brotherhood!
In 1878 ,at the age of 20 Thomas Clarke joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).
In 1883 he was sent to London to bomb London Bridge and had to go 15 years in Pentonville jail.
When he was released from jail in 1898 he moved to Brooklyn where he married Kathleen Daly.
In 1907 he moved to Ireland where he opened a tobacco shop.

4. The Irish Volunteers!
When the Irish Volunteers was formed Thomas Clarke took a big interest in it.
So in 1913 Thomas Clarke joined the Irish Volunteers (IV) then immediately becoming one of their leaders.
He met loads of people during his time as an Irish Volunteer like Padraig Pearse, Sean MacDermott and Thomas Mac Donagh.

5. The Easter Rising!
In 1915 Thomas Clarke and Sean Macdermott established the Military Committee of the IRB to plan what later became known as the Easter Rising.
The members were Padraig Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas MacDonagh, Eamonn Ceant, Joseph Plunkett, Sean MacDermott & Thomas Clarke.
These men were also the 7 signatories of the Proclamation.
Thomas Clarke was stationed at the headquarters in the G.P.O during Easter Week.

6. After The Rising!
Following the surrender on the Sunday the 29th of April Thomas Clarke was sent to Kilmainham Jail to be executed.
Before his execution he asked his wife Kathleen to give this message to the people of Ireland.

7. “I and my fellow signatories believe we have struck the first successful blow for Irish freedom.
The next blow, which we have no doubt Ireland will strike, will win through. In this belief, we die happy”.

8. By Orlaith (6th)