Christy Kearns was a young boy in 1916 and was taking part in a gymnastic display at the Rotunda gardens when the Rising began. He recalls seeing the Lancers make their way down O’Connell Street and being shot at by the Volunteers as they passed Nelson’s Pillar.
The shooting stopped and everything got quiet.
Within a very short time the crowds who had gathered on O’Connell Street began to loot the shops. Kearns describes the scenes at Clery’s Department Store where women were throwing shoes and boots out into the waiting crowds regardless of whether or not they were matching pairs.
Christy Kearns was interviewed for the programme 'Live at Three: 1916 75 Years On', broadcast on 1 April 1991.