“…the general awakening that was taking place in Ireland seemed to make us forget everything else for the time and think only of the fight in prospect.” – Joe McGarrity Joe McGarrity was Éamon de Valera’s right hand man in America and was once described by poet Padraic Colum as “a gallowglass ready to swing a battleaxe with his long arms.” It was an apt description for the old … [Read more...] about Joe McGarrity: De Valera’s Man in America
1916
Constance Gore-Booth:
The Rebel Countess
Constance Gore-Booth may have married a Polish Count, but in her heart she was an Irish revolutionary who had an active part in the Easter Rising and in the formation of the new state.
Countess Markievicz, the fierce Irish revolutionary of the 1916 Rising, cultivated her romantic image by fusing a flair for theatrics with her great heart, earning forever a place in Ireland’s … [Read more...] about Constance Gore-Booth:
The Rebel Countess
Eoin MacNeill: The Man Who Cried Halt!
Eoin MacNeill (pictured above) tried to stop the Rising, but there would have been no Rising without him. Maureen Murphy writes that it’s time to reevaluate the role of this true Irish patriot. When it comes to the Easter Rising, Eoin MacNeill (1867 – 1945) is generally dismissed as the man who canceled the mobilization of the Irish Volunteers for Easter Sunday 1916, a … [Read more...] about Eoin MacNeill: The Man Who Cried Halt!
Hand in Hand for Freedom: U.S. Labor and Irish Rebels
By Terry O'Sullivan, Contributor
The trade union movement in America played a major role in Ireland’s struggle for freedom. But Irish rebels also played a significant role in building the American trade union movement, writes LiUNA general president, Terry O’Sullivan. ℘℘℘ The centennial of the Easter Rising carries a special meaning for proud Irish Americans, and especially for those, like me, who work in the … [Read more...] about Hand in Hand for Freedom: U.S. Labor and Irish Rebels
New York:
A Home Away from Home For Irish Fenians
When Irish exiles needed a refuge, they swarmed to New York and established a hotbed of anti-British sentiment and activity that fed the flames of Irish freedom.
The Great Famine in the 1840s forced millions of Irish out of Ireland, initially flooding the big cities of the east coast of America, especially New York and Boston. New York became a popular target for settlement … [Read more...] about New York:
A Home Away from Home For Irish Fenians