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.