When James Mitchell travelled from his home in east Belfast to Dublin on Easter Weekend of 1916 his main objective was to enlist in the British Army for service in the Great War.

Having become a soldier of the King on Easter Sunday he enjoyed a winning streak at Fairyhouse races on Easter Monday where rumours began to spread of ‘trouble’ in the city centre.

Over the course of the next week Mitchell found himself marooned in The Gresham Hotel and witnessed first-hand the ‘ghastly sights’ which unfolded on Dublin’s streets.

Incredibly, he penned an ongoing and evocative account of the events of Easter Week on Gresham Hotel headed notepaper.

Jason Burke is a historian, writer, and podcaster based in Belfast.

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