190
202 Estella Frances Solomons HRHA (1882-1968)
Erskine Childers
Oil on canvas, 54 x 43.5cm (21¼ x 17¼”)
Provenance: From the Artist’s studio and thence from the estate of the late Geoffrey O’Connor, Kerry
Robert Erskine Childers (1870 - 1922)
Childers was an author and patriot . Although born in London , Glendalough House , the home of his mothers family, the Barton’s,
was his only real home until his marriage to Mary Ellen Osgood of Boston. He fought in the Boer War and wrote his memories of
it in “In the ranks of the CIV” but it was his book “The riddle of the sands” ,which was probably the first 20th Century spy thriller,
that brought him to public attention. It is a fictional account of German preparations to invade England and the book went through
many reprints right into the 21st Century.
Childers is probably best remembered today for his involvement in Howth gun running incident in July 1914 when he used
his yacht “The Asgard” , a wedding present, to run guns from Germany to Howth with Darell Figgis opposite. After he moved
permanently to Ireland in 1919 he became heavily involved in Sinn Féin propaganda. Although he attended the treaty negotiations
his relationship with Collins and Griffith became increasingly strained . He became one of the fiercest public opponents of the
treaty. He was arrested at Glendalough House in November 1922 and charged with possession of a small pistol which was actually a
keepsake from Michael Collins . He was executed two weeks later having first shaken hands with each member of the firing squad.
His son , Erskine Hamilton Childers, served as President od Ireland before his untimely death in 1974.
€1,000 - 2,000
