Irish War of Independence they would maintain their organisation until Home Rule had been granted. Within this Volunteer movement, another faction, led by the separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood, began to prepare for a revolt against British rule in Ireland. The plan for revolt was realised in the Easter Rising of 1916, in which the Volunteers launched an insurrection whose aim was to end British rule. The insurgents issued the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, proclaiming Ireland's independence as a republic. The Rising, in which over four hundred people died, was almost exclusively confined to Dublin and was put down within a week, but the
Easter Rising to be hopeless, they dispersed on Saturday morning. Many went home and were arrested following the rising, while others, including Mellows, went "on the run". By the time British reinforcements arrived in the west, the rising there had already disintegrated. The Easter Rising resulted in at least 485 deaths, according to the Glasnevin Trust. Of those killed: More than 2,600 were wounded; including at least 2,200 civilians and rebels, at least 370 British soldiers and 29 policemen. All 16 police fatalities and 22 of the British soldiers killed were Irishmen. About 40 of those killed were children (i.e. under 17