James Connolly was born in Edinburgh in 1868. To escape poverty, Connolly arrived in Ireland as a 14 year old member of the British army. Later returning to Scotland, his interest in Irish politics was encouraged by the strong Irish presence, leading to his return to Dublin in 1896 where he founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party & started a newspaper The Workers Republic. Spending 7 years in America where he campaigned for workers rights he arrived back in Ireland in 1910 where he campaigned for the Socialist Party alongside James Larkin.

Connolly was one of the founders of the Irish Citizen Army in 1913. He was appointed Commandant General of the Dublin forces that occupied the GPO during the Rising. Connolly, unable to stand, was executed tied to a chair on 12 May 1916.