A member of the Swords Company in the 5th (Fingal) Battalion of the Irish Volunteers, Peter Wilson mobilised in north Co. Dublin on Easter Monday, 1916. He was despatched to the GPO the following day and was subsequently sent to the Mendicity Institute. The rebels here were under heavy fire from the British forces and Wilson’s cousin, also called Peter, was killed before the post was surrendered on Wednesday. Wilson was arrested, court-martialled and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to three years penal servitude and he was interned in Portland, Lewes and Pentonville prisons until June 1917. He rejoined the Volunteers upon his release and fought in the War of Independence, taking part in attacks on Rush RIC Barracks and Coastguard station, amongst other activities.
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