A straight razor that belonged to William Pearse. He left the razor to be sharpened at M. Keogh’s Haircutting Rooms at 30 Upper Camden Street shortly before Easter 1916. It was never collected, and was kept by the shop owner as a memento of William.

Pearse, William (‘Willie’) (1881–1916), revolutionary and sculptor, was born 15 November 1881 at 27 Great Brunswick St. (Pearse St.), Dublin. He was the younger brother of Patrick Pearse.

He followed his brother into the Irish Volunteers and Republican movement, and stayed by his brother's side in the GPO through the Rising. Though he only played a minor role in the rising, he was the only prisoner to plead guilty. This combined with his relationship to Patrick may have contributed to him being court martialled. His execution, a day after his brother, did much to discredit the executions in the eyes of many moderate nationalists.

(Biographical details: William Murphy. 'Pearse, William (‘Willie’)'. Dictionary of Irish Biography.)