John O’Dwyer Creaghe (1841 – February 19, 1920), also known as Juan Creaghe, was an Irish-born anarchist.

Background

Creaghe was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Ireland in 1841, and in 1865 he graduated from the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

in Dublin, becoming a doctor. He opened up a practice in

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50 ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

. In 1874, he emigrated to the capital of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

In Argentina

It is not known how Creaghe came in contact with anarchist ideas, since the country's anarchist movement was small at the time. It's speculated he may have come into contact with the Italian Anarchist Errico Malatesta, who was in Argentina between 1885 and 1889.

In England

In 1890, he moved to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, working in a poor working class district with many Irish immigrants. He became involved in the Socialist League, a Marxist group led by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

, but he soon broke away to form an anarchist group in Sheffield. On the group's first public appearance, it sported a banner reading "No God, No Master" at the

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

demonstration. The group soon also founded a club and a newspaper, the ''Sheffield Anarchist'', which did not survive for long as it became caught up in the Walsall Anarchists' trial. In 1891 Creaghe wrote ''"give me Anarchists willing to die NOW if necessary for Anarchy, and if you can find me 15 or 20 to join me I promise you we will make an oppression of the enemy''"

Return to the Americas

In 1892, he left Sheffield to go back to Argentina via Liverpool, London, and Spain. There he founded the newspaper ''El Oprimido'', forerunner of , which exists to this day. He was involved in the founding of the

Argentine Regional Workers' Federation The Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (Spanish: ''Federación Obrera Regional Argentina''; abbreviated FORA), founded in , was Argentina's first national labor confederation. It split into two wings in 1915, the larger of which merged into ...

, an anarchist trade union. He also contributed to the Ferrer free school movement inspired by the ideas of the Spanish anarchist pedagogue

Francisco Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...

, and director of the Rationalist School in

Luján, Buenos Aires Luján (pronounced ) is a city in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, located 68 kilometres north west of the city of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1755 and has a population of 106,899 (per the ). Luján is best known for its large ...

. In 1911, Creaghe left Argentina once again, eventually arriving in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he collaborated with Mexican anarchists. He founded another newspaper, '' La Regeneración'', and was friends with

Ricardo Flores Magón Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón (, known as Ricardo Flores Magón; September 16, 1874 – November 21, 1922) was a noted Mexican anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique and Jesús were also active in politics. Followers of ...

. Both were involved in the

Magonista rebellion of 1911 The Magonista rebellion of 1911 was an early uprising of the Mexican Revolution organized by the Liberal Party of Mexico (, PLM), which was only successful in northern Baja California. It is named after Ricardo Flores Magón, one of the leaders ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

; after the start of the Mexican Revolution, they supported the country's

anarchist movement The history of anarchism is as ambiguous as anarchism itself. Scholars find it hard to define or agree on what anarchism means, which makes outlining its history difficult. There is a range of views on anarchism and its history. Some feel anar ...

. Creaghe died on February 19, 1920, in a prison in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

References

1841 births 1920 deaths Irish anarchists Irish emigrants to Argentina Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Magonists People from County Limerick Politics of Sheffield Socialist League (UK, 1885) members {{anarchist-stub