Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (; 4 September 1831 (baptised) – 29 June 1915)Con O'Callaghan

Reenascreena Community Online (dead link archived at archive.org, 29 September 2014) was an Irish

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

leader who was one of the leading members of 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 ...

(IRB). Born and raised in

Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, he witnessed the Great Famine. Rossa founded the

Phoenix National and Literary Society The Phoenix National and Literary Society (or Phoenix Society) was an 1856–1859 Irish nationalist organisation based in West Cork. It was established in Skibbereen in December 1856 by Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, as a revival of the Young Ireland m ...

and dedicated his life to working towards the establishment of an independent

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

. He joined the IRB, was arrested by the British and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1869 he was elected to the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

while in prison. After being exiled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1870 as part of the

Cuba Five :::: ''See Cuban Five for Cuban intelligence officers formerly held in Miami prisons.'' The Cuba Five () were a group of Ireland, Irish Rebellion, rebels released from United Kingdom, British prisons in 1871 on condition of not entering Britain ( ...

amnesty, Rossa worked with other Irish revolutionary organisations there to oppose British rule in Ireland. Rossa was one of the primary advocates of

physical force Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

and organised the

Fenian dynamite campaign The Fenian dynamite campaign (also known as the Fenian bombing campaign) was a campaign of political violence orchestrated by Irish republican paramilitary groups in Great Britain from 1881 to 1885. It involved attacks using explosives such as ...

, which saw Irish republican groups carry out bombing attacks in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, targeting both government and civilian targets. The campaign caused widespread outrage among the British public and Rossa was subject to a failed assassination attempt from an Englishwoman in 1885, the same year the campaign ended. Following his death in 1915, he was buried 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 ...

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

. His funeral served as a rallying point for Irish republicans and is often cited as a direct stepping stone towards the events of 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.

Early life

Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa was born Jeremiah Donovan in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Reanascreena,

, to Denis Donovan and Ellen Driscol, and was baptised on 4 September 1831. His parents were

Irish-speaking Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

tenant farmers who raised him in the language. According to the scholar

John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to: *John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert *John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator *John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...

, with whom Rossa corresponded, Rossa's ancestors belonged to the obscure but ancient sliocht of the MacEnesles or Clan Aneslis O'Donovans. His ancestors had held

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

in Kilmeen parish in the 17th century before the confiscations, with his

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

"Rossa" coming from the townland of Rossmore in

Kilmeen Kilmeen GAA are a Junior A Gaelic football club from the south-west division (Carbery GAA) of County Cork, Ireland. The club competes in Carbery and Cork competitions. Their sister club in Hurling, Kilbree competes at Junior A level as of 200 ...

. Rossa became a shopkeeper in

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

, where, in 1856, he established the

, the aim of which was "the liberation of Ireland by force of arms",Shane Mac Thomáis
"Remembering the Past: Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa"
in '' An Phoblacht/Republican News'', 4 August 2005. This organisation would later become a front for the

(IRB), founded two years later in

Arrest and imprisonment

In December 1858, he was arrested and jailed without trial until July 1859. In 1863 he became the business manager of James Stephens' newspaper, '' The Irish People'' which was raided and suppressed in September 1865. As part of the raid, Rossa was arrested and held at Richmond Bridewell prison to await trial by the Special Commission on charges of treason felony. Fanny Parnell, co-founder of the

Ladies' Land League The Ladies' Land League (founded 31 January 1881; dissolved 10 August 1882) was an auxiliary of the Irish National Land League and took over the functions of that organization when its leadership was imprisoned. It is the first political associatio ...

with her sister Anna Parnell attended the trial which was thought to have influenced her thinking. He was sentenced to penal servitude for life due to his previous convictions. He served his time in

Pentonville Pentonville is an area in North London, located in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the London Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient p ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Mill ...

and Chatham prisons in England. Rossa was a defiant prisoner, manacled for 35 straight days for throwing a chamber pot at the prison's warden and thrown into solitary confinement on a bread-and-water diet for three days for refusing to take off his cap in front of the prison's doctor. Timothy Messer-Kruse, '' The Haymarket Conspiracy: Transatlantic Anarchist Networks.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2012; pg. 107. For most of his time in prison Rossa was denied the right to correspond with his associates in the outside world because he violated prison rules. In an 1869 by-election, he was returned to the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

for the Tipperary constituency, in which he defeated the Liberal Catholic Denis Caulfield Heron by 1054 to 898 votes. The election was declared invalid because Rossa was an imprisoned felon.

Life in the United States

After giving an understanding that he would not return to Ireland, in effect his exile, Rossa was released as part of the Fenian Amnesty of 1870. Boarding the ship SS ''Cuba'', he left for the United States with his friend

John Devoy John Devoy (, ; 3 September 1842 – 29 September 1928) was an Irish republican Rebellion, rebel and journalist who owned and edited ''The Gaelic American'', a New York weekly newspaper, from 1903 to 1928. Devoy dedicated over 60 year ...

and three other exiles. Together they were dubbed " The Cuba Five". Rossa took up residence in New York City, where he joined

Clan na Gael Clan na Gael (CnG) (, ; "family of the Gaels") is an Irish republican organization, founded in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, successor to the Fenian Brotherhood and a sister organization to the Irish Republican Bro ...

and the

Fenian Brotherhood The Fenian Brotherhood () was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Membe ...

. Rossa additionally established his own newspaper dedicated to the cause of Irish independence from British rule, ''The United Irishman.'' In it Rossa advocated the use of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

s such as

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

as a means of overthrowing British rule in Ireland. His paper was used to raise a so-called "resources for civilisation fund," presumably for the purchase of dynamite and other armaments for the Irish struggle.

Dynamite campaign

Rossa organised the first ever bombings by

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

s of English and Scottish cities as part of the

The campaign lasted through the 1880s and made him infamous in

. The

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

demanded his extradition from America, but without success. Rossa later justified his revolutionary activities in the following manner;

Failed assassination attempt

On 2 February 1885, Rossa was shot outside his office near

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

by an Englishwoman, Lucille Yseult Dudley. He was admitted to the Chambers Street Hospital with gunshot wounds to the back. Even though they were not life-threatening, a ball was to remain embedded there for the rest of his life. "I've been wounded in the war" was Rossa's comment to a friend in the hospital. The British government responded to the incident by stating that Dudley was mentally unstable and not acting on their behalf. Historians have argued that her motivation for the assassination attempt was anger at Rossa's role in the "skirmishing fund" which served as a fundraise for the dynamite campaign.

Final years

In 1891 Rossa's ban from the United Kingdom expired, and thereafter he undertook lecture tours of Britain and Ireland. While in Ireland in 1894, he allowed himself to be nominated for the office of Dublin City Marshal by supporters, but he was heavily defeated. In 1904 he was made a "Freeman of the City of Cork", and in 1905 he was appointed to a clerkship in the office of the secretary to Cork county council. The role came with an annual salary of £150, badly needed by Rossa at that stage of his life. However, by September 1906 Rossa resigned from the job due to the deteriorating health of his wife. The pair opted instead to return to New York, where Rossa would become an inspector of street openings in Brooklyn. Rossa's own health became increasingly poor from 1910 onwards.

Death and funeral

Rossa was seriously ill in his later years; he suffered from

senility Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform everyday activities. This typically involves problems with memory, ...

which caused him to relive his childhood and his years in prison. Rossa's final years saw him confined to a hospital bed in St. Vincent's Hospital,

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, where he died at the age of 83. The new republican movement in Ireland was quick to realise the propaganda value of the old Fenian's death, and Tom Clarke cabled to

the message: "Send his body home at once". Against Rossa's wishes to be buried with his father and other victims of the Great Famine, his body was returned to Ireland for burial and a hero's welcome. The funeral at

on 1 August 1915 was a huge affair, garnering substantial publicity for the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

and the

at time when a rebellion (later to emerge as the

) was being actively planned. The graveside oration, given by

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, Irish poetry, poet, writer, Irish nationalism, nationalist, Irish republicanism, republican political activist a ...

, remains one of the most famous speeches of the Irish independence movement stirring his audience to a call to arms. It ended with the lines:

''They think that they have pacified Ireland. They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half. They think that they have foreseen everything, think that they have provided against everything; but, the fools, the fools, the fools! – They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.''

Personal life

Rossa was married three times and had eighteen children. On 6 June 1853, he married Honora "Nora" Eager of Skibbereen, who had four sons (Denis, John, Cornelius Crom and Jeremiah). She died in 1860. In 1861 he married Ellen Buckley (Eileán Ní Bhuachalla) of

Castlehaven Castlehaven () is a civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork, approximately 45 miles south-west of Cork City on the coast. The civil parish includes the town of Castletownshend and the hamlets of Rineen and Tragumna. Th ...

; they had one son (Florence Stephens; later known as Timothy in the US); Buckley died in July 1863. In November 1864 he married, for the third time, to Mary Jane (Molly) Irwin of

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

. They had thirteen children (James Maxwell, Kate Ellen, Francis Daniel, Maurice, Sheila Mary, Eileen Ellen, Amelia, Jeremiah, Isabella, Mary Jane, Margaret Mary Hamilton, Joseph Ivor and Alexander Aeneas). The descendants of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa made their homes in Staten Island; they include writer

William Rossa Cole William Rossa Cole (November 20, 1919 – August 2, 2000) was an American editor, anthologist, columnist, author, and writer of light verse. He produced around 75 books, most of them anthologies. Cole was born William Harrison Cole on November ...

and

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

lor Jerome X. O'Donovan. O'Dovonan Rossa's great-great-grandson is US international rugby union player John Quill.

Legacy

Following Rossa's death, political rival

Timothy Daniel Sullivan Timothy Daniel Sullivan (29 May 1827 – 31 March 1914) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, politician and poet who wrote the Irish national hymn "God Save Ireland", in 1867. He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1886 to 1888 and a Member ...

commentated that "No more determined or consistent enemy to British rule ever breathed the air of Ireland", while Patrick Pearse praised Rossa as "the most typical" of Fenian leaders who derived "courage and endurance from the Gaelic tradition". A memorial to Rossa stands in

St. Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Ar ...

, and a bridge over the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

was renamed in his honour. A street in Cork City bears his name, as does a street in

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

– the constituency where he was elected. A park in

is also named after him as is the local Gaelic football team. A memorial to Rossa stands in the village of Reenascreena, Rosscarbery County Cork where his descendants run the local village pub. The funeral casket that was used to ship him home is now on display next to the pub. Other

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

teams throughout Ireland have also been named after him including Ard Bó Uí Dhonnabhain Rossa in the

Tyrone GAA The Tyrone County Board (), or Tyrone GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The county board is r ...

, O'Donovan Rossa GAC in Belfast, Ó Donnabháin Rosa

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

in the

Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland (the GAA refers to the county as ...

and Uí Donnabháin Rosa Mullach Breac in

Armagh GAA The Armagh County Board () or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The county board is resp ...

along with Ó Donnabháin Rosa est. in 2018 in Astoria, Queens, New York.

In popular culture

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta 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 influentia ...

's " Araby," written between 1905 and 1907, the narrator is walking across Dublin, when he hears "the nasal chanting of street-singers, who sang a come-all-you about O'Donovan Rossa". Rossa appears as a character in Harry Harrison's

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

Stars and Stripes trilogy The ''Stars and Stripes'' trilogy is a collection of three alternate history novels written by Harry Harrison. Setting All three novels involve the point of divergence of British involvement in the American Civil War after the ''Trent'' Aff ...

''.

Works

* ''O'Donovan Rossa's Prison Life : Six Years in Six English Prisons'' (1874: New York) * ''Rossa's Recollections. 1838 to 1898.'' (1898: New York). * ''Irish Rebels in English Prisons : A Record of Prison Life'' (1899: New York) Republications * ''Rossa's Recollections 1838 to 1898: Memoirs of an Irish Revolutionary'' (Globe Pequot, 2004)

References

External links

*
myguideIreland page with additional information on Rossa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan Rossa, Jeremiah 1831 births 1915 deaths 19th-century Irish people Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Irish emigrants to the United States Irish exiles Irish prisoners and detainees Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tipperary constituencies (1801–1922)

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

People from Rosscarbery People from Skibbereen People of the Fenian dynamite campaign Prisoners and detainees of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1868–1874 People on Irish postage stamps