In Peter de Rosa’s book “Rebels: The Irish Rising of 1916”, there is a fascinating story about the role of James Kearney, the park keeper of St Stephen’s Green, during the Easter Rising. On April 25th, 1916, Countess Markiewicz, who was overseeing the military engagement in the park, spotted an unarmed man holding a brown bag walking across the open space. Fearing he might be caught in the crossfire, she immediately ordered a ceasefire. The man turned out to be James Kearney, who had come to feed the ducks in the pond – a task he had been performing twice daily since the beginning of the Rising.
To the surprise of both British and Irish troops, Kearney’s daily ritual became a symbol of peace and humanity amidst the violence and chaos of the conflict. According to The Times History of the War, St Stephen’s Green “was well stocked with waterfowl, and the keeper, who remained inside all the time, reported that his charges were well looked after and fed by him, and were very little perturbed by the bullets flying over their heads”. Kearney continued to feed the ducks throughout the Rising, and each time he emerged from the park lodge, both sides respected the informal ceasefire and refrained from firing.