Kathleen O'Brennan (20 November 1876 – 1948) was an Irish campaigner for Irish independence in the US, a journalist and a playwright.

Early life

Catherine Mary Brennan was born 20 November 1876, the daughter of Francis Brennan, auctioneer, and his wife, Elizabeth Anne Butler, while they lived in 11 South Richmond Street, Dublin. They reclaimed the 'O' of their name at a time when many Irish families were returning to the 'Mac' or 'O' version that had been unrecognised for a century. Her sister

Áine O'Brennan Áine () is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth, and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun,MacKillop, James (1998) ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' Oxford: Oxford University Press pp.10, 16, 128 and is sometimes represent ...

married

Éamonn Ceannt Éamonn Ceannt (21 September 1881 – 8 May 1916), born Edward Thomas Kent, was an Irish republican, mostly known for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Background Ceannt was born in the little village of Ballymoe, overlooking the River Su ...

and her younger sister

Lily O'Brennan Elizabeth ‘Lily’ O'Brennan (20 August 1878 – 31 May 1948), was an Irish republican, writer and playwright. Background O'Brennan was born in Summer Street, Dublin, the third daughter of Francis Brennan, auctioneer, and Elizabeth Anne Butl ...

was a writer and playwright. Her father died in 1880, her mother in 1930. O'Brennan was a journalist and playwright. She was appointed Dublin correspondent to the ''London Times'' and went on to submit work regularly to the ''Irish Times'' and the ''Irish Tatle''r.

American life

While Lily and Áine were involved directly in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), 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 aim of establishing an ind ...

in 1916, O'Brennan was in the United States. She didn't let her absence from Dublin prevent her from working hard to ensure the success of Ireland's bid for independence. According to research by historian Catherine M Burns, O'Brennan arrived in America in October 1914 and stayed there for longer than expected due to the difficulty of transatlantic travel during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Working as a journalist and lecturer, O'Brennan traveled to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and spoke to women's organisations as an authority on the

Gaelic league (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

and Irish art and culture. Her lectures included details she got from her sisters and photos of Éamonn Ceannt and his son, Rónán. While on the US West Coast, O'Brennan's ties to the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW) brought her to the attention of the US authorities, who tracked her movements and associations. She became involved in the IWW through Dr

Marie Equi Marie Equi (April 7, 1872 – July 13, 1952) was an early American medical doctor in the American West devoted to providing care to working-class and poor patients. She regularly provided birth control information and abortions at a time when bot ...

, with whom she had a romantic relationship. When Equi was arrested, O'Brennan worked to see her released and continued to agitate until her own arrest in 1919 during the

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

. The US government issued a deportation order for O'Brennan, but it was not enforced. During this period, O'Brennan founded the Women's Irish Education League in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in May 1919. O'Brennan moved to the US East Coast in 1920. As Burns finds, after an "American women" picketing venture demanding US recognition of the Irish Republic was organised by William J Maloney in Washington, DC in April 1920, O'Brennan, Gertrude Kelly and Gertrude Corless founded the American Women Pickets for the Enforcement of America's War Aims in New York City. Burns argues that the organisation used American identity as a tool to shield O'Brennan's identity and to mask the radicalism of the women's cause by tying support for the Irish Republic to historical memory of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. According to Burns, during the April 1920 picketing O'Brennan took advantage of her position as the pickets' press connection to ensure that names other than her own, such as ''Kathleen Glennon'', ''Maurya O'Brannon'' and ''Kathleen Butler'' appeared in press reports about the pickets, concealing her identity in the face of the deportation order that might be enforced were she to be seen as associated with militant women's activism for the Irish Republic. Burns maintains that after picket Helen Golden challenged their leadership by publicly designating the women pickets loyal to O'Brennan, Kelly, and Corless as Irish, rather than American. O'Brennan and Kelly then formed an American auxiliary to the

Irish White Cross The Irish White Cross was established on 1 February 1921 as a mechanism for distributing funds raised by the American Committee for Relief in Ireland. It was managed by the Quaker businessman, and later Irish Free State senator, James G. Dougla ...

. Fearful that the Irish republican movement in the United States might be perceived as Irish-run, radical, and un-American,

Harry Boland Harry Boland (27 April 1887 – 1 August 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from 1919 to 1920. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1922. He was elected at the 191 ...

opposed their efforts. He and

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

attacked O'Brennan, deeming her and Kelly as too un-American to work for the benefit of the as yet unrecognised Irish Republic in the United States. The women refused to take orders from de Valera, sealing their fate. O'Brennan departed to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on a lecture tour in July 1921 and by June 1922 was living back in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. During the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, de Valera used O'Brennan's socialist reputation to approach Soviet foreign minister

Georgy Chicherin Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin (or Tchitcherin; ; 24 November 1872 – 7 July 1936) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician who served as the first People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 ...

while in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The contact was hoped to provide finance and munitions but was unsuccessful.

Later life

O'Brennan's play ''Full Measure'' premiered in the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

in 1928. She was secretary to the Irish PEN. Her personal papers are held in the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

along with those of other members of her family including Éamonn Ceannt, his wife Áine and her sister Lily. She is buried in

Dean's Grange Cemetery Dean's Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been buried there. It is, toge ...

with her sister Lily.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Brennan, Kathleen 1876 births 1948 deaths People from County Dublin Irish women writers People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Irish emigrants to the United States Women in the Irish Civil War