The Rising was originally set for noon on Easter Sunday. Most of the rank-and-file Volunteers were unaware that anything unusual was afoot, as The Rising was planned in secret by the IRB Military Council. Many may have suspected that something was in the offing when they received orders to mobilize with full-gear and rations for three-days of maneuvers and drills, but very few would have known the extent that these "maneuvers" would take. The secret, however, was soon out after Bulmer Hobson learned of it at an IRB Centre meeting on the evening before Good Friday.