Tom Clarke (Irish republican)
Thomas James Clarke Tomás Séamus Ó Cléirigh | |
---|---|
Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, England | |
Died | 3 May 1916 Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland | (aged 58)
Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
Nationality |
|
Other names | Henry Wilson |
Organization | Irish Republican Brotherhood |
Movement | Irish republicanism |
Spouse | Kathleen Clarke |
Children | 3 |
Thomas James Clarke (
Early life
Clarke was born at
Irish Republican Brotherhood
In 1878, at the age of 20, he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) following the visit to Dungannon by John Daly, and by 1880 he was centre (head) of the local IRB circle.[3] In August that year, after a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) had shot and killed a man during riots between the Orange Order and the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Dungannon, Clarke and other IRB members attacked some RIC men in Irish Street. They were driven back, however, and Clarke, fearing arrest, fled to the United States.[4]
Participation in Fenian dynamite campaign and 15 years imprisonment
In 1883, Clarke was sent to
Relocating to America
Following his release in 1898, Clarke returned to Ireland where he was met by a number of welcome home parties in Dublin and Dungannon, and Limerick offered him the freedom of the city, which he accepted. Clarke stayed with the family of the Mayor of Limerick at the time, the republican John Daly, with whom Clarke had previously been imprisoned. It was during this time that Clarke was introduced to Kathleen Daly, John's niece. Tom and Kathleen would subsequently begin a relationship.[8]
Despite his well-wishers, Clarke found it difficult to gain employment in Ireland following his return and would make the decision in 1900 to emigrate to Brooklyn in the United States. In 1901, he married Kathleen, 21 years his junior. The Irish nationalist John MacBride served as Clarke's best man.[8] In New York, Clarke worked for the Irish nationalist organisation Clan na Gael under its leader, John Devoy. In September 1903 Clarke helped Clan na Gael launch their own newspaper, The Gaelic American, with Clarke serving as an assistant editor to Devoy. On 2 November 1905, Clarke became a naturalised American citizen.[8]
After Clarke fell into ill health in late 1905, he gave up his job at the Gaelic American and moved with his wife to a 30-acre (120,000 m2) farm in Manorville, New York, and bought another 30 acres there in 1907.[9]
Return to Ireland, political activism
Reasoning that he needed to be in Ireland to continue his Fenianism, Clarke returned to Ireland in November 1907, where he opened up a tobacconist shop in Dublin while immersing himself back into the IRB which was undergoing a substantial rejuvenation under the guidance of younger men such as Bulmer Hobson and Denis McCullough. Clarke developed a very close kinship with Hobson, who along with Seán Mac Diarmada, became his protégé. The younger, more radical members of the IRB lauded Clarke for his militancy, and with their support, Clarke was quickly promoted to the Supreme Council of the IRB and made treasurer. It was alongside Hobson and Mac Diarmada that Clarke would establish the republican journal Irish Freedom in 1910.[8]
In order for the IRB to extend its influence, it was also in 1910 that Clarke helped set up a front organisation called the Wolfe Tone Clubs Committee, which allowed members of the IRB to gather without overtly declaring their presence. In 1911 Clarke organised a gathering of Irish Republicans at the graveside of Wolfe Tone in Bodenstown Graveyard, County Kildare to counterprotest the royal visit of George V to Dublin. It was also during this time that Clarke displayed a large banner in his shop reading "Damn your concessions, England, we want our country!".[8]
It was also during this late 1900s/early 1910s period that Clarke joined both the
Clarke supported the striking members of the
Clarke was a supporter of the
In the summer of 1913 Clarke once again organised a gathering of republicans at Bodenstown, and that year Clarke invited a young upstart,
Irish Volunteers
When the Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913, Clarke did not publicly take part, fearing that as a felon and well-known Irish nationalist, he would lend discredit to the Volunteers. Nevertheless, with Mac Diarmada, Hobson, Pearse, and other IRB members such as Éamonn Ceannt taking important roles in the Volunteers, it was clear that the IRB would have substantial, if not total, control of the organisation. This proved largely to be the case until June 1913, when the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, John Redmond, demanded that the Provisional Committee accept 25 additional members of the Party's choosing, which would give the IPP loyalists a majority stake. Though most of the hard-liners, including Clarke, stood against this, Redmond's decree was accepted, partially due to the support given by Hobson. Clarke never forgave Hobson for this, calling it "a treasonous act" and dubbing Hobson a "(Dublin) Castle Spy".[8]
On 24 September 1914, with World War I having just begun, it was Clarke and Mac Diarmada who instigated an internal coup of the Irish Volunteers which saw anti-Redmonites seize control of the Volunteers' HQ in Dublin and issue a manifesto which rejected Redmond's leadership. This precipitated a split in the Volunteers, and although the vast majority sided with Redmond, those who opposed Redmond kept the name "Irish Volunteers". From then on, the Irish Volunteers would be in near-total IRB control, much to Clarke's delight. Redmond's followers, now called the National Volunteers, would go on to serve as part of the British army in the war, while the Irish Volunteers would remain home in Ireland. It was out of this situation that Clarke saw an opportunity to organise a militant uprising in Ireland.[8]
Planning the uprising
Part of a series on |
Irish republicanism |
---|
Following Clarke's falling out with Hobson, Mac Diarmada and Clarke became almost inseparable. The two of them, as secretary and treasurer, respectively, de facto ran the IRB, although it was still under the nominal head of other men: James Deakin, and later McCullough. In 1915 Clarke and Mac Diarmada established the Military Committee of the IRB to plan what later became the Easter Rising. The members were Pearse, Ceannt and Joseph Plunkett, with Clarke and Mac Diarmada adding themselves shortly thereafter.[8]
When the old Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa died in 1915, Clarke used his funeral (and Pearse's graveside oration) to mobilise the Volunteers and heighten expectation of imminent action.[14]
In late 1915, Clarke used his connections with Clan na Gael back in New York City to arrange for German weapons to be shipped into Ireland to coincide with the planned uprising. It was during this period that Clarke became frantic, keen to plan out and organise every aspect of the rising. Clarke feared a repeat of the
It was also in January 1916 when an agreement was reached between the IRB and the leading
Although Clarke avoided publicity and attention by nature, his activities did not go unnoticed by Dublin Castle, the centre of British intelligence in Ireland. Dublin Metropolitan Police detectives correctly realised that Clarke was the primary mover behind a planned republican revolution in Ireland, and began to heavily monitor his activities. DMP detectives rented a shop directly across from his Parnell Street shop in order to directly observe his comings and goings, and were planning to arrest him just days before the Easter Rising launched in late April 1916.[8]
In one of the final meetings before the Easter Rising went ahead, a gathering of the military council discussed the Proclamation of the Irish Republic; it was decided amongst them that Tom Clarke's signature should be the first amongst them on the document, owing to the sentiment that "he had done more than anyone else to bring about the rising".[8]
Easter Rising
There was immediate confusion at the onset of the Easter Rising when Eoin MacNeill, nominally the head of the Irish Volunteers, issued orders in the Sunday Independent for Volunteers not to gather. Clarke was livid and denounced MacNeill as a traitor, but resolved to push ahead regardless.[8]
Clarke was located at headquarters in the
Late in the week, the GPO had to be evacuated due to a fire. The leaders gathered in a house in Moore Street to decide how to proceed. Clarke was the only leader amongst them who wished to keep fighting. With a nearly unanimous vote having been taken, Pearse ordered the rebels to surrender on 29 April. Clarke broke down into tears.[8] Clarke wrote on the wall of the house, "We had to evacuate the GPO. The boys put up a grand fight, and that fight will save the soul of Ireland."[20]
Execution
Clarke was arrested by the British after the surrender. He and the other commanders were taken to the
"My comrades and I believe we have struck the first successful blow for freedom, and so sure as we are going out this morning so sure will freedom come as a direct result of our action...In this belief, we die happy."[22]
Legacy
The historian James Quinn has opined that Clarke was "probably the most single-minded of all the 1916 leaders". Quinn states that despite his frail physical appearance and aversion to public speaking, Clarke can be described as the fiercest, most tenacious and most zealous of all the Easter Rising leaders.
After her husband's execution, Kathleen Clarke was elected a TD in the Second Dáil, notably speaking against the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
- The Thomas Clarke Tower block of flats in Ballymun Flats was named after him. The top floor was used as a short-stay hotel before its demolition in April 2008.
- 1916 Rising.
- The Tom Clarke Bridge is a tolled bridge across the River Liffey in Dublin. The bridge, officially named after Clarke, is popularly referred to as the East-Link Bridge.
- He also featured on postage stampsin 1966.
- Dungannon Thomas Clarkes, a successful GAA Club and Gaelic football team in Clarke's hometown in County Tyroneare also named after him.
- Dungannon has a 1916 Society named in his honour, Cumann Thomáis ui Chléirigh.[23]
- Clarke Square in Collins Barracks
- He was portrayed by Lalor Roddy in the 2016 miniseries Rebellion, a dramatic retelling of the events and aftermath of the 1916 Rising.
Gallery
Works
- Glimpses of an Irish Felon's Prison Life (1922: The National Publications Committee, Cork)
References
- Caulfield, Max (1965). The Easter Rebellion. London: New English Library.
- Clarke, Kathleen (1991). Litton, Helen (ed.). Revolutionary woman: Kathleen Clarke 1878–1972, an autobiography [My fight for Ireland's freedom]. Dublin: O'Brien Press. ISBN 0-86278-245-7.
- ISBN 0-14-029165-2.
- Litton, Helen (2014). Thomas Clarke. Dublin: O'Brien Press. ISBN 9781847172617.
- Lyons, F. S. L. (1973). Ireland since the famine (2nd rev. ed.). London: Fontana. ISBN 0-00-633200-5.
- Martin, F. X., ed. (1967). Leaders and men of the Easter Rising: Dublin, 1916. London: Methuen.
- Moran, Sean Farrell, Patrick Pearse and the Politics of Redemption, Washington, Catholic University of America Press, 1994.
- Townshend, Charles (2005). Easter 1916: the Irish rebellion. London: ISBN 0-7139-9690-0.
Notes
- ISBN 9781781171349. Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ "The seven signatories of the proclamation: Tom Clarke" (PDF). The 1916 Rising: personalities & perspectives. National Library of Ireland. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ^ a b Ryan (2014), p. 42
- ^ Ryan (2014), p. 43
- ^ Ryan (2014), p.44
- ^ Old Bailey Proceedings Online (accessed 27 April 2008), Trial of Thomas Gallagher, Alfred Whitehead, Henry Wilson, William Ansburgh, John Curtin, Bernard Gallagher. (t18830528-620, 8 May 1883).
- ISBN 9781784080150.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Quinn, James (August 2012). "Clarke, Thomas James ('Tom')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "The Story of Thomas J. Clarke – aohdivision11.org – Retrieved 9 October 2009". Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ISBN 978-1847176547. Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ Feeney, Brian (2014). Seán MacDiarmada: 16 Lives. O'Brien Press.
- ^ Paseta, Senia (2013). Irish Nationalist Women, 1900–1918. Cambridge University Press. p. 192.
- ^ A New History of Ireland Volume VII: Ireland, 1921–84. Oxford University Press. 2010. p. 858.
- ^ Sean Farrell Moran, Patrick Pearse and the Politics of Redemption, page=186
- ^ Piaras F. Mac Lochlainn, Last Words, An Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta, Gaeltachta agus Oileán, 1990
- ISBN 978-0752472720. Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- ISBN 0862782457.
- ^ Thomas, Cónal (17 February 2016). "On Richmond Avenue, Residents Seek Action on Derelict Site and Historic Home". Dublin Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ Quinn, James (2019). "Clarke, Thomas James ('Tom')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ O’Connor, Batt, "With Michael Collins In The Fight For Irish Independence" Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine 2nd ed., Millstreet: Aubane Historical Society, p.75-76.
- ^ "God & guns... the aftermath of 1916". 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ISBN 9781845887766. Archivedfrom the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Tom Clarke Society". Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.