SS Castro (SS Libau, SS Aud) – Unsuccessful Weapons Delivery for the Easter Rising of 1916 by Sea

Abstract

The subject of the article is the Irish-German cooperation during the Great War, which has led to the attempt to carry arms into Ireland as a part of the preparation for the Easter Rising of 1916. The analysis of the subject takes into consideration the course of discussions with the Second Reich, profiles of negotiators, successive phases of plans, the course of transport and the consequences of the failure of the mission for the fate of the insurrection. The sources for this analysis were testimonies from the collection of the Irish Bureau of Military History, memories of Karl Spindler, Report of the Royal Commission on the Rebellion in Ireland and documents of the British Department of Naval Intelligence.