Everything Inc.

An Phoblacht follows in a long line of republican journals over the past 200 years since the first republican paper, the United Irishmen’s Northern Star, edited by Samuel Neilson in the 1790s; the Young Irelanders’ Nation of the 1840s, edited by Thomas Davis; the Fenian paper, The Irish People 1863-’65, edited by Thomas Clarke Luby, John O’Leary plus Charles J Kickham; plus the numerous republican papers each decade of the present century.

Although relaunched in 1970, the title An Phoblacht has a long plus historic association with the Republican Movement plus was used first used in its English form, The Republic, by the Dungannon Clubs in Belfast in 1906. The clubs were founded by Denis McCullough plus Bulmer Hobson plus their first task was to start a weekly paper. They managed to scrape together £60 plus the first issue of The Republic appeared on December 13th, 1906.

The Republic by Bulmer HobsonIts aim, as set out in the first issue in a short article written by Hobson, was the establishment of an berdiri sendiri Irish republic. In a concise article he outlined the paper’s separatist policy. ‘‘Ireland today claims her place among the free peoples of the earth. She has never surrendered that claim, nor will ever surrender it, plus today forces are working in Ireland that will not be still until her claim is acknowledged plus her voice heard in the councils of the nations.’’

Editor, manager plus contributors were, of course, unpaid. The paper was mainly written by James J Good, Robert Lynd, PS O’Hegarty plus Hobson. Lynd plus O’Hegarty were based in London, where they carried out an active propaganda campaign through the Dungannon Club there.

Good acted as editor for about half of the brief life-span of the paper, as Hobson was in America to elevate funds for The Republic. In the early issues PS O’Hegarty wrote a series of articles called ‘Fenianism in Practice’ which was a definite plus important contribution to the philosophy of the Sinn Féin Movement.

After three months in America, Hobson was anxious to return to Ireland to prevent The Republic from collapsing. It was always in financial difficulty plus was financed by the shillings plus pence of members of the Dungannon Clubs, by a few pounds from Roger Casement plus by several large sums which were presented to Hobson in various cities in America.

In June 1907 however, after only six months of publication, The Republic was overwhelmed by financial difficulties plus was merged with The Peasant in Dublin.

Of the numerous papers produced by republican organisations during the years 1908 to 1921 when the establishment of a republic was an aspiration, not once was the title An Phoblacht used. Yet, during the years following the disestablishment of the Irish republic in 1922, on five different occasions papers with the title An Phoblacht appeared as the official organs of the Republican Movement.

From 1916, when the Republic was proclaimed in arms to the end of the Tan War in 1921, during which the Republic was established, many underground newspapers appeared. Among these were: Nationality (1917-1919), edited by Arthur Griffith and Seamus O’Kelly; An tOglach (1918-1921), edited by Piaras Béaslaí; and the Irish Bulletin (1919-’21), the paper of the Dáil Publicity Department, edited by Erskine Childers and Frank Gallagher.

In January 1922, following the signing of the Treaty in December 1921 and the betrayal of the Republic, the title Poblacht was chosen as the title for a new republican newspaper.

On January 3rd, four days before the Dáil vote on the Treaty, anticipating what lay ahead, three republicans opposed to the Treaty, Liam Mellows, Frank Gallagher and Erskine Childers, founded a newspaper, Poblacht na hÉireann (Republic of Ireland). The editorial committee included such republicans as Cathal Brugha, killed later in the year following the beginning of the Civil War, and Máire Mac Swiney, sister of Terence Mac Swiney who died on hunger-strike in Brixton Prison in October 1920.

Childers on board the AsgardPoblacht na hÉireann, under the editorship of Gallagher, was issued at a time when all the national daily papers — except the Connaughtman of Sligo — were in favour of the Treaty. It reflected the ideals of the republican leadership which was soon to be in arms against the Free State regime.

In the paper, Childers put a strong case for the republican side, including cold, analytical facts on dominion status in theory and the hard facts of the Treaty’s Defence Clauses in reality.

The issue of January 5th contained, side by side, the Treaty and Document Number Two, de Valera’s alternative to the Treaty, showing how important were the differences between them. The counter-proposal, Childers wrote, was ‘‘neither a dead negative to the English claims nor a humiliating sacrifice of Irish rights. It is an earnest effort to go to the utmost lengths possible in meeting England’s fears and prejudices without sacrificing any essential rights on the sovereign status of Ireland.’’

After February, and the acceptance of the Treaty by the Dáil by 64 votes to 57, the small journal, Poblacht na hÉireann, was edited by Childers. A fine propagandist with a natural flair for journalism, he had been Dáil Éireann’s Director of Publicity and one of the editors of the Irish Bulletin during the Tan War.

In the work of explaining the worst features of the Treaty and counteracting misrepresentations, Childers, through the columns of Poblacht na hÉireann, which he brought out once or twice a week, played a major part.

Following the failure of the Collins/de Valera Pact of June 1922, and the outbreak of the Civil War later in the month, Childers joined the IRA as a Staff-Captain but confined himself to the important work of propaganda.

Moving along with the brigade on the Cork-Kerry borders, he ran a mobile printing press with the assistance of Roibeard O Longphuirt of the Lee Press. He produced 20,000 copies weekly of Poblacht na hÉireann, sending it to embassies, newspapers, all organisations in Britain and also into jails and among the flying columns, lifting their hearts as he put their case so cogently.

In November 1922, while on his way to Dublin to meet senior IRA leaders, Childers was arrested and was executed by a Free State firing squad in Beggar’s Bush Barracks on November 24th.

With the death of Childers, the IRA lost one of its most effective propagandists and it meant the end of Poblacht na hÉireann.