Episode 1

In a deeply personal film, writer and comedian Brendan O'Carroll, star of Mrs Brown's Boys, tells the story of the Irish Easter Rising. A hundred years ago, in Easter week 1916, 1,600 Irish rebels took over the centre of Dublin. Despite overwhelming odds, the rebels held out against the forces of the British Empire for six days until they were shelled into submission. Three of those rebels were Brendan's uncles. Now, on the centenary of the revolt, Brendan tells the dramatic story of the Rising and looks into the part his family played in it. He explores how the Rising, though a complete military failure, sent shock waves through the British Empire and signalled the birth of today's Republic of Ireland.