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!
February March 2016 Issue
Hand in Hand for Freedom: U.S. Labor and Irish Rebels
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
The German Connection
As World War I loomed, the U.S. was wracked by political, ethnic, and religious tension. Most Americans hoped to remain neutral, but the Irish in the U.S. were not shy about whom to root for. “The German guns will be the call of Ireland to her scattered sons,” Roger Casement wrote in his tract, “The Crime Against Ireland and How the War May Right It.” “Let Irishmen in America … [Read more...] about The German Connection
Boston and the Irish Rising
The battle for the hearts and minds of the Boston Irish took a sharp turn in the aftermath of the 1916 Irish Rising. Prior to the 1916 Rising, Boston’s Irish community had maintained some equilibrium between those who favored constitutional methods of Home Rule, and those for physical force and agitation. And within this spectrum were viewpoints about socialism and worker’s … [Read more...] about Boston and the Irish Rising