The Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913 to protect the Home Rule bill then going through parliament from the threat posed by the unionist leader Edward Carson and his newly formed Ulster Volunteer Force. Alternatively, the Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913 by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, using respected constitutionalists as an unwitting front, with … Read more
Michael Judge, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, was bitterly opposed to the admission of Redmond’s nominees to the provisional committee, saying later that ‘had they been men, they could have snapped their fingers at John Redmond and all his influence’. Judge was the only one of the ‘Home Rule’ members to remain … Read more
One enthusiastic supporter of the new Volunteer movement was Maurice Moore, a retired colonel of the Connaught Rangers. Moore was more concerned with the military than with the political aspect of the Volunteers, and was soon appointed chief inspector. Two others were Tom Kettle and his brother Larry, both members of the radical Young Ireland … Read more
In March 1902, Lieutenant General J.P. Redmond was buried with full military honours in Guildford cemetery. Officers past and present of his old regiment, the Glosters, sent a ‘magnificent wreath’, and a military carrying party from the 61st bore his body to the graveside. But, despite appearances, this was no ordinary old soldier’s funeral. After … Read more
The 1860s was a period in which physical-force nationalists were once again secretly organising and it was later claimed by the Fenian leader John Devoy that the IRB had recruited Irishmen to the Fenians from within the ranks of the 61st, as well as other British regiments. Devoy later recalled that ‘One of the most … Read more