![Patrick Egan (1841-1919)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Patrick_Egan_%281841-1919%29.JPG)
Patrick Egan (13 August 1841 – 30 September 1919) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
political leader.
Early life
Egan was born in
Ballymahon
Ballymahon () on the River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N55 National secondary road and the R392 regional road.
History
Ballymahon derives its name from the Irish lang ...
,
Co. Longford,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. His family later moved to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, and at the age of fourteen, he entered the office of an extensive grain and milling firm, the North City Milling Company. Before he was twenty, he had been promoted to the post of chief bookkeeper and confidential man. Later, he was elected managing director of the firm, as a stock company, it being the most extensive one in Ireland. He was, at the same time, senior partner in the most extensive bakery establishment in the county. He had been an industrious learner before going into business, and took evening classes from various instructors, particularly a brilliant young
Episcopal minister named Porte.
[1889 HISTORY OF LINCOLN NEBRASKA - Chapter Twenty](_blank)
at www.memoriallibrary.com
Irish Nationalism
Egan became involved with the
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
soon after its establishment. In 1873, he was treasurer of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and with the IRB's supported, participated in the establishment of the
Home Rule League
The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...
with fellow IRB Supreme Council members
John O'Connor Power
John O'Connor Power (13 February 1846 – 21 February 1919) was an Irish Fenian and a Home Rule League and Irish Parliamentary Party politician and as MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland represented Ma ...
,
Joseph Biggar
Joseph Gillis Biggar (c. 1828 – 19 February 1890), commonly known as Joe BiggarD.D. Sheehan, Ireland Since Parnell', London: Daniel O'Connor, 1921. or J. G. Biggar, was an Irish nationalist politician from Belfast. He served as an MP in the H ...
and
John Barry. In 1877, he and others, including Power, Biggar and Barry, resigned from the Brotherhood over the condemnation by its leaders of the use of politics within a revolutionary organisation.
At its foundation in 1879, Egan was elected treasurer of the
Irish Land League
The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farme ...
. He was a close associate of
Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt (25 March 184630 May 1906) was an Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his caree ...
and
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...
. At the end of 1880, he, with twelve others, including Parnell, Dillon, Bigger, Sexton, Sullivan, Sheridan, and
Matt Harris, were singled out by the government for prosecution for alleged conspiracy. After a costly trial of sixteen days, the jury convicted two and acquitted ten. The government did not dare arraign them again, but brought in a bill to suspend the
Habeas Corpus Act, and to permit the arrest of any one obnoxious to the government, intending to proscribe all members of the League.
![Amischievousboy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Amischievousboy.jpg)
Following the arrest of Parnell, Egan signed the
No Rent Manifesto
The No Rent Manifesto was a document issued in Ireland on 18 October 1881, by imprisoned leaders of the Irish National Land League calling for a campaign of passive resistance by the entire population of small tenant farmers, by withholding rents ...
of 18 October 1881, in his function as treasurer of the Land League. That led to the proscription of the League by the British government. Egan fled to Paris with the organisation's funds in order to prevent their confiscation by the authorities. He remained in Paris from February 1881 to the end of 1882.
Between 1880 and 1882, Egan was nominated a number of times for election to parliament, and was twice unanimously nominated, once for
Queen's County and again for
Meath. However, he declined because he would not take the oath of allegiance to the Crown required by the government.
In the United States
Learning that the government was conspiring to arrest him and colleagues, and make him the victim of a
show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...
, he quietly fled to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and later to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, settling in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
, where he continued to work strenuously for the Irish Land League and Irish home rule. In 1881, he was elected president of the National Executive Committee of the
Irish National League of America
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, at its convention in Boston.
Egan was instrumental in exposing the
Piggott forgeries.
He gave an interview to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in October 1888, predicting that the case against Parnell being prosecuted in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' of London would be demolished:
:Nothing new has developed yet to talk about. What has been said so far is simply a rehash of charges, without proof, that has been made for the last five years. But wait until the evidence for Parnell is produced. The whole ''Times case will be exploded and indisputable evidence produced which will show Parnell guiltless and the true character of the allegations against him. You may expect some sensational testimony ... I have no doubt of the complete vindication of Parnell and all his associates and this will greatly injure the government.
Egan subsequently became involved in
American politics
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that Separation of powers, share powers. These are: the United States Congress, U.S. Congre ...
and was a minor power in the
Republican Party, until he became a supporter of
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
in 1896.
As
United States Ambassador to Chile
The following is a list of ambassadors that the United States has sent to Chile. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
See also
*Ambassadors o ...
from 1889 to 1893, he represented the US when relations became strained during the revolt against President
José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he wa ...
. He caused the
Baltimore Crisis, and sought to provoke the United States into a war of colonisation against Chile. The general Chilean attitude was probably best expressed by Eduardo Phillips, chief of the Diplomatic Section of the Ministry of Foreign Relations who, in a letter to a newspaper, described Egan as a person "utterly lacking in all elements of culture and courtesy, and ever-ready to descend to the level of invective and calumny".
Egan supported
John Redmond
John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as lead ...
and the
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respons ...
in his final years. In an interview with the ''New York Times'', following the executions of the leaders of the 1916
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
, he declared:
:Ninety-eight per cent of all Irishmen were not in sympathy with the revolt, and England had nothing to gain by shooting people after it is over ... If anyone were shot it should have been
John Devoy
John Devoy ( ga, Seán Ó Dubhuí, ; 3 September 1842 – 29 September 1928) was an Irish republican rebel and journalist who owned and edited '' The Gaelic American'', a New York weekly newspaper, from 1903 to 1928.
Devoy dedicated over ...
who hatched the whole nefarious scheme here in New York and was personally responsible for it.
[Patrick Egan, ''A New'' ''Dictionary of Irish History from 1800'', D J Hickey & J.E Doherty, Gill and Macmillan, 2003]
Egan was the father of fourteen children, nine of whom survived childhood. His residence in Lincoln was located at 1447 Q street.
In literature
''"In gay Paree he hides, Egan of Paris, unsought by any save me. Making his day's stations, the dingy printing case, his three taverns, the Montmartre lair, rue de la Goutte d'Or, damascened with flyblown faces of the gone."'' From
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's, ''Ulysses''.
References
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Patrick
1841 births
1919 deaths
19th-century American diplomats
Ambassadors of the United States to Chile
Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
Irish land reform activists
History of the foreign relations of Chile
Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Politicians from County Longford
Georgist politicians