John MacBride
Encyclopedia
Major John MacBride (8 May 1868 – 5 May 1916) was an Irish
republican
executed for participation in the 1916 Easter Rising
.
, Ireland
to Patrick MacBride, a shopkeeper and trader, and the former Honoria Gill, who survived her son. He was educated at the Christian Brothers
' School, Westport and at St. Malachy's College
, Belfast
. He worked for a period in a drapery shop in Castlerea
, County Roscommon
. He had studied medicine, but gave it up and began working with a chemist firm in Dublin.
He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood
and was associated with Michael Cusack
in the early days of the Gaelic Athletic Association
. He also joined the Celtic Literary Society through which he came to know Arthur Griffith
who was to remain a friend and influence throughout his life. Beginning in 1893, MacBride was termed a "dangerous nationalist" by the British
government. In 1896 he went to the United States
on behalf of the IRB. On his return he emigrated to South Africa
.
, where he raised the Irish Transvaal Brigade. Despite being known as MacBride's Brigade its first commander was in fact an Irish-American, Colonel John Blake, an ex-US Cavalry Officer. MacBride recommended Blake as Commander since macBride himself had no military experience. [Jordan Anthony J. 'Boer War to Easter Rising', Westport Books 2006 p.13]The Brigade was given official recognition by the Boer Government, the commissions of the Brigade's officers were signed by State Secretary FW Reitz. He was commissioned with the rank of major in the Boer army and given Boer citizenship.
The 500 Irish and Irish-Americans fought the British. Often these Irish commandos were fighting opposite such Irish regiments as the Dublin Fusiliers and the Inniskillings. From the hills around the besieged town of Ladysmith
to the plains of the Orange Free State
, MacBride's Brigade first looked after the Boers' great Long Tom gun
, then fought in the Battle of Colenso
and later held the rearguard, harassing Lord Roberts
' cavalry as the Boer army retreated. However, a larger number of Irish (whose sympathies led to them being labelled West British) fought for the British against the Boers.
A Second Irish Brigade was organised by Arthur Lynch. [Jordan Anthony J. boer War to Easter rising, Westport Books 2006 pp.6061]. The arrival in the Irish camp of an Irish-American Ambulance Corps bolstered Macbride's Brigade. [Jordan p. 70] Michael Davitt who had resigned as an M.P due to the Boer War visited MacBride's Brigade. When Col. Blake gor injured at Ladysmith MacBride had to take sole command of the Brigade. Though Blake later returned for a short period he later left the Brigade to join another commando.[Jordan. p. 76][ Meanwhile, back home Irish pro-Boer fever, whipped up by Arthur Griffith
and Maud Gonne
in what was the most popular and most violent of the European pro-Boer movements, proved to be a 'dry run' for 1916.
was born. The marriage had already failed but the couple could not agree on custody of their baby. When MacBride would not agree to Maud's terms, she made accusations against him and instituted divorce proceedings in Paris. Yeats was her main advisor and happliy belived all she said about her husband. No divorce was given but a separation with Maud having custody to the baby until age 12. The father got visiting rights and one month each summer. MacBride did not remain in Paris but returned to Dublin and never saw his son again. [Jordan Anthony J. 'The Yeats Gonne MacBride Triangle' Westport Books 2000 pp.49-104]
and was appointed second-in-command at the Jacob
's factory.[Jordan Anthony J. 'Boer War to Easter Rising' Westport Books 2006 p. 158] MacBride, after a court martial under the Defence of The Realms Acts, was shot by British troops
in Kilmainham Gaol
, Dublin.
He was executed on 5 May 1916, two days before his fifty-first birthday. Facing the British firing squad, he refused to be blindfolded, saying "I have looked down the muzzles of too many guns in the South African war to fear death and now please carry out your sentence." He is buried in the cemetery at Arbour Hill Prison
in Dublin.
Yeats, who had hated MacBride during his life largely because of Yeats' unrequited love for Maud Gonne
and who had heard negative reports of MacBride's treatment of Gonne in their marriage, gave him the following ambivalent eulogy in his poem "Easter, 1916
":
Maud Gonne hated this poem. She wrote to Yeats " No I dont like your poem, it isn't worthy of you & above all it isn't worthy of its subject... As for my husband he has entered eternity by the great door of sacrifice...so that praying for him I can also ask for his prayers" ['Gonne-Yeats Letters' Eds. Anna MacBride White & Norman Jeffares, Pimlico 1993 p. 384]
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
executed for participation in the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
.
Early life
John MacBride was born at The Quay, Westport, County MayoWestport, County Mayo
Westport is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated on the west coast at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean....
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Patrick MacBride, a shopkeeper and trader, and the former Honoria Gill, who survived her son. He was educated at the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
' School, Westport and at St. Malachy's College
St. Malachy's College
St. Malachy's College is the oldest Roman Catholic grammar school in the province of Ulster, and one of the oldest in Ireland.The college was founded in 1833 by Bishop William Crolly, about 50 years after the repeal of the penal laws, which had outlawed, among other things, the celebration of the...
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. He worked for a period in a drapery shop in Castlerea
Castlerea
Castlerea is located in the west of County Roscommon, Ireland. It is the second largest town in the county with a population of 3,055 . Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea can mean Brindled Castle or King's Castle...
, County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He had studied medicine, but gave it up and began working with a chemist firm in Dublin.
He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
and was associated with Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack was an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association.-His Life:...
in the early days of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
. He also joined the Celtic Literary Society through which he came to know Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
who was to remain a friend and influence throughout his life. Beginning in 1893, MacBride was termed a "dangerous nationalist" by the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
government. In 1896 he went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on behalf of the IRB. On his return he emigrated to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Participation in the Second Boer War
He took part in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, where he raised the Irish Transvaal Brigade. Despite being known as MacBride's Brigade its first commander was in fact an Irish-American, Colonel John Blake, an ex-US Cavalry Officer. MacBride recommended Blake as Commander since macBride himself had no military experience. [Jordan Anthony J. 'Boer War to Easter Rising', Westport Books 2006 p.13]The Brigade was given official recognition by the Boer Government, the commissions of the Brigade's officers were signed by State Secretary FW Reitz. He was commissioned with the rank of major in the Boer army and given Boer citizenship.
The 500 Irish and Irish-Americans fought the British. Often these Irish commandos were fighting opposite such Irish regiments as the Dublin Fusiliers and the Inniskillings. From the hills around the besieged town of Ladysmith
Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
to the plains of the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, MacBride's Brigade first looked after the Boers' great Long Tom gun
155 mm Creusot Long Tom
The 155 mm Creusot Long Tom was a French field gun manufactured by Schneider et Cie in Le Creusot, France and used by the Boers in the Second Boer War.-Second Boer War:...
, then fought in the Battle of Colenso
Battle of Colenso
The Battle of Colenso was the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic and Orange Free State in and around Colenso, Natal, South Africa on 15 December 1899.Inadequate...
and later held the rearguard, harassing Lord Roberts
Lord Roberts
Lord Roberts may refer to:*John Roberts, 2nd Baron Roberts , was an English politician and soldier during the English Civil War English and English Restoration...
' cavalry as the Boer army retreated. However, a larger number of Irish (whose sympathies led to them being labelled West British) fought for the British against the Boers.
A Second Irish Brigade was organised by Arthur Lynch. [Jordan Anthony J. boer War to Easter rising, Westport Books 2006 pp.6061]. The arrival in the Irish camp of an Irish-American Ambulance Corps bolstered Macbride's Brigade. [Jordan p. 70] Michael Davitt who had resigned as an M.P due to the Boer War visited MacBride's Brigade. When Col. Blake gor injured at Ladysmith MacBride had to take sole command of the Brigade. Though Blake later returned for a short period he later left the Brigade to join another commando.[Jordan. p. 76][ Meanwhile, back home Irish pro-Boer fever, whipped up by Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
and Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
in what was the most popular and most violent of the European pro-Boer movements, proved to be a 'dry run' for 1916.
Marriage to Maud Gonne
After the war he travelled to Paris where Maud Gonne lived. In 1903, he married her much to the horror and undying hatred of W. B. Yeats, whose muse she was and to whom Yeats had proposed many times. The following year their son Sean MacBrideSeán MacBride
Seán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....
was born. The marriage had already failed but the couple could not agree on custody of their baby. When MacBride would not agree to Maud's terms, she made accusations against him and instituted divorce proceedings in Paris. Yeats was her main advisor and happliy belived all she said about her husband. No divorce was given but a separation with Maud having custody to the baby until age 12. The father got visiting rights and one month each summer. MacBride did not remain in Paris but returned to Dublin and never saw his son again. [Jordan Anthony J. 'The Yeats Gonne MacBride Triangle' Westport Books 2000 pp.49-104]
The Easter Rising
After returning from Paris in 1905 MacBride played an important part with other Irish nationalists in preparing for an Insurrection. Because he was so well known to the British the conspirators thought it wise to keep him outside their tight group.[ Jordan Anthony J. 'Boer War to Easter Rising' Westport books 2006. pp. 130-156] As a result he happened to find himself in the midst of the Rising without notice. He was in Dublin early on Easter monday morning to meet his brother Dr. Anthony MacBride who was arriving from Westport to be married on the Wednesday. The Major walked up Grafton St and saw Thomas MacDonagh in full uniform. He offered his services to Thomas MacDonaghThomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh was an Irish nationalist, poet, playwright, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Early life:MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary...
and was appointed second-in-command at the Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
's factory.[Jordan Anthony J. 'Boer War to Easter Rising' Westport Books 2006 p. 158] MacBride, after a court martial under the Defence of The Realms Acts, was shot by British troops
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol is a former prison, located in Kilmainham in Dublin, which is now a museum. It has been run since the mid-1980s by the Office of Public Works , an Irish Government agency...
, Dublin.
Arbour Hill Prison
Arbour Hill Prison is a prison and military cemetery located in the Arbour Hill area near Heuston Station in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The prison is the national centre for male sex offenders.-Architecture:...
in Dublin.
Yeats, who had hated MacBride during his life largely because of Yeats' unrequited love for Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
and who had heard negative reports of MacBride's treatment of Gonne in their marriage, gave him the following ambivalent eulogy in his poem "Easter, 1916
Easter, 1916
thumb|right|200px|1920 photograph of [[William Butler Yeats]]Easter, 1916 is a poem by W. B. Yeats describing the poet's torn emotions regarding the events of the Easter Rising staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916. The uprising was unsuccessful, and most of the...
":
- "This other man I had dreamed
- A drunken, vain-glorious lout.
- He had done most bitter wrong
- To some who are near my heart,
- Yet I number him in the song;
- He, too, has resigned his part
- In the casual comedy;
- He, too, has been changed in his turn,
- Transformed utterly:
- A terrible beauty is born."
Maud Gonne hated this poem. She wrote to Yeats " No I dont like your poem, it isn't worthy of you & above all it isn't worthy of its subject... As for my husband he has entered eternity by the great door of sacrifice...so that praying for him I can also ask for his prayers" ['Gonne-Yeats Letters' Eds. Anna MacBride White & Norman Jeffares, Pimlico 1993 p. 384]