Aoife de Búrca (3 October 1885 1 December 1974), one of the few nurses stationed in the Hibernian Bank and the

General Post Office, Dublin The General Post Office (GPO; ga, Ard-Oifig an Phoist) is the headquarters of An Post — the Irish Post Office. It is the principal post office of Dublin — the capital city of Ireland — and is situated in the centre of O'Connell Street, t ...

during the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

, de Búrca was one of those who treated

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...

before his arrest.

Biography

She was born Evaline Mary Burke on 3 October 1885 to Mary Kelly and Henry J. Burke. Her father Henry had been born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

to Irish parents. He moved back to Ireland where he married, and settled in

Carbury, County Kildare Carbury (), also formerly spelt "Carbery", is a rural community in north-west County Kildare, Ireland. It is situated on the R402 regional road between Enfield and Edenderry, near the border with County Offaly, and includes the smaller hamle ...

, Ireland. The couple had 5 children. de Búrca attended school in the Dominican Convent on Eccles street in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. She went on to study nursing. She came from a republican family. Her younger brother Frank Burke was one of the Irish volunteers and was stationed in the GPO. When de Búrca heard of the insurrection she immediately went into the city centre to find out what was needed. She returned to her lodgings, packed a bag and hired a car to take her and her luggage to the action. There she was given a position across the road from the GPO. She remained in the buildings of the Hibernian hotel treating the wounded, including treating Captain Thomas Weafer where he died, until the wounded were evacuated through the walls of the basement and across the road. From then on she was stationed in the GPO itself. de Búrca spent one night at home during the rising and worked as a messenger for

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

on her way out of the centre of the city. She returned the following day and served there aiding in treating the injured until the building was collapsing due to the fire caused by shelling. At that point all wounded were evacuated to the

Jervis Street Hospital Jervis Street Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Shráid Jervis) was a hospital in Jervis Street in Dublin, Ireland. The site of the hospital became the Jervis Shopping Centre. History The hospital was founded by six Dublin surgeons, George Duany, Patrick ...

. de Búrca remained there over night and returned to her lodgings in the morning. de Búrca spent her life working for

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

as a nurse. She lived in Drumcondra until she moved in with her brother Frank in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

where she died in November 1974. The Red Cross armlet and apron that she wore is on display in the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

. Her memoir of the event was written the same year as well as being updated in the 1960s. Her story was covered in a television production called ''Seven Women'' for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Burca, Aoife 1885 births 1974 deaths Female wartime nurses Irish nurses Women in 20th-century warfare Women in war in Ireland