On Sunday 6 March 2016 I gave an address at the Battle of Vinegar Hill Monument, Castlebrook Memorial Park, Rouse Hill on the occasion of the 212th anniversary of the convict rebellion there in 1804. In the address I reflected on the relationship between that event and the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, the centenary of which we commemorate this year. In the address I observed, “In both cases, the plans though bold were ill-conceived, poorly executed and destined to fail. As the Americans say, ‘You can’t fight City Hall’. And yet in both cases, Irishmen were prepared to risk their lives in a reckless endeavour against overwhelming odds.” I then went on to ask and consider the following question: “So, what is it that drove the Irish convicts of 1804 and the Volunteers of 1916, to answer the call to rise up and to rush, lemming like, towards the ramparts of the ruler, only to plunge to inevitable defeat and in many cases certain death?” To read the address click here.