With the exception of Plunkett, who was in hospital, the members of the IRB Military Council (Pearse, Connolly, Clarke, MacDiarmada, Ceannt and MacDonagh) met in Liberty Hall on Easter Sunday to discuss the situation following the loss of the shipment of arms, Casement’s arrest and MacNeill’s countermand. They decided to proceed with the Rising but to postpone it until noon on Monday to enable them to contact as many Volunteers as possible throughout the country and inform them that the Rising was going ahead.

Most members of the Iris h Citizen Army, close to 1,000 Volunteers and a number of members of Cumann na mBan assembled outside Liberty Hall before noon on Easter Monday. They removed stocks of guns, ammunition and home-made bombs and grenades which had been stored there. At noon they marched off to take over the various positions they had been assigned. Liberty Hall was then empty, but the British, thinking it was an occupied stronghold, shelled it on Wednesday.