the Irish Republic came to an end. Pearse is generally believed to have been the leader of the rebels, and therefore assumed to have been the Head of Government and President of the Republic, and is described as the "first President of the Irish Republic" by historian Tim Pat Coogan. However Kathleen Clarke, the widow of Tom Clarke, maintained that, by inviting Clarke to sign first, the other signatories acknowledged him as first President of the Republic, and said that Clarke confirmed that interpretation to her. On the 50th anniversary ceremonies in 1966, Mrs Clarke said in an interview that Pearse had "wanted to grab what was due to others . . . surely Pearse should have been satisfied with the honour of Commander-in-Chief when he knew as much about commanding as my dog … I had not intended raising the issue in public but I shall be forced to come out very strongly in public if the powers that be attempt to declare Pearse as President". Footnotes Institutions of the Irish Republic (1919–1922) Irish Republic