The Symbol Of The Easter Rising

Portraits, second prize stories

1998

Dan 'Bally' Keating (97) now shoots only magpies in the woods near his home, and grows lilies, the symbol of the 1916 Easter Rising. In 1916, leaders of the Easter Rising against British domination were executed by firing squad in the yard of Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Ireland. The event catalyzed thousands of young men and women to take up arms and fight for Irish independence. Today, surviving veterans of the original Irish Republican Army number among the world's oldest revolutionaries. Most pride themselves that theirs was a military battle, fought against soldiers and not civilians.

Commissioned by: for Guardian Weekend Magazine

Photo Credit: Seamus Murphy

Seamus Murphy's work as a photojournalist has taken him on frequent assignments to Afghanistan, but also across the world, from Iran, the Palestinian territories and Iraq, to Kenya, India, the US and more. His awards include four previous World Press Photo awards, a POYi and a W. Eugene Smith Memorial grant. Murphy's work has appeared in a range of leading international publications, such as The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic Adventure, Paris Match, Le Figaro Magazine, Stern, Geo, The Guardian Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph Magazine and The Independent Magazine. His work in Afghanistan led to the book A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan.