The Seven: The Lives and Legacies of the Founding Fathers of the Irish Republic
by
Ruth Dudley Edwards
OneWorld
2016
“The odds are a thousand to one against us…. If
we win, we’ll be great heroes; but if we lose, we will be the greatest
scoundrels the country ever produced.” James Connolly
“We have preserved Ireland’s honour and our
own. Our deeds of last week are the most splendid things in Irish History.
People will say hard things of us now, but we shall be remembered by posterity
and blessed by unborn generations.” Patrick Pearse
I was born
and raised in Belfast. I lived there, was educated and worked there for more than
two decades. My family background is Catholic, I was educated at a Christian
Brothers school and I know bits and pieces of Irish history, infused (or
perhaps confused) by rebel songs, some boisterous, some romantic, some sickly
sentimental, and amateur recollections of historical happenings. I can remember
occasional discussions about the 1916 Easter Rising and other episodes as well
as exchanging casual opinions on some of the famous people who lived and died
for their causes. I knew of Patrick Pearse and James Connolly but none of the
other key players. I cannot remember being formally taught much, if any, Irish
history. My knowledge could be summarised by saying that the British/English
did some terrible things and the Irish did some terrible things too. In other
words, regarding Irish history, I was as shallow as dishwater, that is until I
read ’The Seven: The Lives and Legacies of the Founding Fathers of the Irish
Republic’ by Ruth Dudley Edwards.
I expected
the book to be detailed because recently I read ‘Newspapermen’ by the same
author, a thorough account of Fleet Street barons and I wasn’t disappointed. In
addition, I heard that Ruth Dudley Edwards is not everyone’s cup of tea, that
she likes a debate and that, regarding Ireland, that land of perpetual
disagreement, she is not afraid to express what she knows and say what she
thinks. Thus, a further expectation was that she would not pull any punches in
her accounts of the seven significant men in one of Ireland’s most dramatic
historical periods. A browse on social media confirms that she attracts
controversy and a fair amount of abuse but she seems to be well able to take
criticism as well as dish it out. Of course, she has supporters too.
So, I came
to this book wanting to know more about Ireland before, during and after 1916
and what inspired and influenced individuals to devote themselves to a cause or
variations of a cause. I also wanted to join the dots, as it were, to see how
events 100 years ago relate to today’s Ireland with its divisions,
disagreements and ongoing troubles. I came to the book as an apolitical layman,
neither an academic nor a historian.
Ruth Dudley
Edwards takes us through the lives and motives of Thomas J. Clarke, Sean Mac
Diarmada, Eamonn Ceannt, Patrick H. Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett
and James Connolly, all of whom signed The Proclamation of the Irish Republic
at Easter, 1916:
THE PROCLAMATION OF
POBLACHT NA h-EIREANN
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE
IRISH REPUBLIC
TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND
IRISHMAN AND
IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she
receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her
children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.
Having organized
and trained her manhood through her secret revolutionary organization, the
Irish Republican Brotherhood, and through her open military organizations, the
Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her
discipline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she
now seizes that moment, and, supported by her exiled children in America and by
gallant allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, she
strikes in full confidence of victory.
We declare the
right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the
unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The
long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government has not
extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the
destruction of the Irish people. In every generation the Irish people have
asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty; six times during the
past three hundred years they have asserted it in arms. Standing on that
fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we
hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State. And we
pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its
freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.
The Irish
Republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman
and Irish woman. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal
rights and equal opportunities of all its citizens, and declares its resolve to
pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts,
cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the
differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a
minority in the past.
Until our arms
have brought the opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent National
Government, representative of the whole people of Ireland and elected by the
suffrages of all her men and women, the Provision Government, hereby
constituted, will administer the civil and military affairs of the Republic in
trust for the people.
We place the
cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, Whose
blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause
will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the
Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline and by the readiness of its
children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of
the august destiny to which it is called.
Signed on behalf
of the Provisional Government,
THOMAS J. CLARKE
SEAN MAC DIERMADA
THOMAS MACDONAGH
P.H.PEARSE
EAMONN CEANNT
JAMES CONNOLLY
JOSEPH PLUNKETT
Each man’s
story is told in impressive detail - family backgrounds, education, employment,
travels, political leanings, literary and religious influences et al and
related in an easy-to-read narrative that maintains interest throughout, unlike
a stuffy textbook. I must say though that I needed a mental flipchart to keep
tabs on the various characters entering and exiting the stories but, by the
end, the important relationships were clear enough.
There is
little doubt that the seven men were committed to their individual beliefs and
dedicated completely to their collective cause – Ireland free from British
rule. It is right to acknowledge their determination and, depending on your own
assessment, to admire their vision, ideals and ultimate sacrifice. Whether or
not you side with the seven, what is the point of leading or following a cause
if you are not prepared to see it through?
Ruth Dudley
Edwards explores how such individuals, some placid, some mercurial, all
well-read and intelligent, came together to drive their attempt at revolution.
Her critics might be able to ferret around the text and pick out examples of
negative descriptions or exaggerated assumptions or a lack of sympathy for the
men and their associates but I did not detect anything in the reading that made
me feel that I was being manipulated to lean one way or the other. I sensed a
degree of fairness in the portraits, giving credit or criticism when due and
had no inkling that there was any blatant attempt to condemn who the men were
and what they tried to do. Honest appraisal by its nature exposes the good, the
bad and the ugly.
This is a
book about heroics to some and foolishness to others. It paints a picture of
Ireland, the Irish and these seven individuals in graphic detail, illustrating
depression, discontentment and destitution across the country. It underlines
the determination of a few intellectuals
to influence their followers via barnstorming speeches, political writings and
poetry, and when words were deemed not to be enough, they evolved into military
strategists.
The
penultimate chapters – No Turning Back and Last Act – are powerful and superb
in describing the action on Dublin’s streets and the disintegration of the
collective effort to win the battle. The
accounts of the closed trials, the absence of legal support, the death
sentences of the Seven and others and the mental images of men executed by
firing squad, chill the soul. They all faced the same charge and all met death
in the same way, proud to the last. Their bodies were buried in unmarked
graves.
They became
icons. They became martyrs. And they lit a fuse. They inspired other
individuals and groups over the 100 years since 1916 to keep the original cause
– Ireland free from British rule – alive through passionate politics and bloody
violence.
No doubt,
as the Easter Rising and its leadership are sensitive and, perhaps, sacred
subjects, some will read and hate this book and others will love it for various
reasons. The Seven have achieved legendary status in certain quarters and,
whilst there is much to say in their favour – intellect, talent, resolve, patriotism
– there is much to ponder about their abilities to put their considerable
political and military theories into practice.
For this
reader I found it an excellent resource filling in some considerable gaps in my
knowledge of Irish history. I understand why the Seven did what they did, why
they did it and why there is a massive reverential tone when their names,
actions and manner of their deaths are mentioned. I also joined the dots to
clarify the connection between then and now (thanks to the helpful final chapter, Legacies). I lived and worked in Belfast in
the 1970s, surrounded by The Troubles, that time of sectarian hatred, murder,
injury, grief and fear that still simmers under an uneasy peace, manipulated by
fickle, stubborn politicians.
Ruth Dudley
Edwards has helped me see the past and much of the present more clearly in a
thoroughly engrossing book that, I think, given a fair assessment by believers
and non-believers, should be read widely.
Footnote:
According to the book, "the immediate casualties were 450 dead and 2,600 injured, of whom 116 were soldiers, 16 policemen and 242 civilians (of whom 28 children were from the slums). During the same week, more than 500 Irishmen were killed by a German gas attack on Irish lines. Only 76 rebels died, of whom 15 were executed........"
Footnote:
According to the book, "the immediate casualties were 450 dead and 2,600 injured, of whom 116 were soldiers, 16 policemen and 242 civilians (of whom 28 children were from the slums). During the same week, more than 500 Irishmen were killed by a German gas attack on Irish lines. Only 76 rebels died, of whom 15 were executed........"
Excellent & very honest review of an excellent & very honest book which has been written by an
ReplyDeleteExcellent Writer & what's more a 'very' honest person !.
Agree Ruth has her critics but are her critics simply people who don't want to know the truth ?? & more so want to stop Truths getting out there,It's pretty obvious to everyone that is the case.
Colin Scotland & as part of the great Irish Diaspora !!