Commandant W.J. Brennan-Whitmore was officer commanding the Volunteer position at the head of North Earl Street, an outworking of the GPO garrison. Its purpose was to delay and frustrate any attempt by the British to deploy reinforcements coming from Amiens Street railway station (now Connolly). Brennan-Whitmore and his men held this position for over seventy-two hours until forced out by British artillery.

He and his troops attempted to retreat northwards through the slums, hoping the reach the safety of the suburbs. But he and his men were not from Dublin and were unfamiliar with the city. They were captured in a tenement where they had taken refuge and were interned in Frongoch in Wales. Released in 1917, he lived until 1977. Dublin Burning is a vivid, clear-eyed account of the Rising and is the most complete account we have from a participant.