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1914: THE I.R.B.’S CALL TO ARMS
‘ADDRESS OF THE S.C.’.
A printed Address, headed ‘Brothers:’ and signed ‘THE PRESIDENT’, evidently an address to
members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from the President of its Supreme Council. No
printer, no date, 2 pp (single folded sheet printed rectos), on lightweight paper, circa 27 x 15 cms.
Frayed at edges, small hole touching a few letters, but a good copy of an item which is certainly rare
and may be unique.
It is clear that the Address was composed between the initial outbreak of what became the First
World War -- Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war with Serbia on 28 July 1914 -- and Britain’s
formal declaration of war with Germany on 4 August.
It begins, ‘Every thinking man amongst you must feel that our Country’s destiny is at this moment
trembling in the balance -- should England be forced to declare war against a Powerful rival Empire
-- and such an event seems not only probable, but almost certain; either of two things must
happen: Ireland will leap to her feet, full of hope and courage, to vindicate her God-given right to
NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE, or the cause of Irish Nationality will become a bye-word and a mockery
...
‘We repeat it: should England be forced into the War which has only commenced, and should such
a providential chance for Ireland be allowed to pass away unavailed of, the cause which we have
vowed to cherish is lost, hopelessly lost, during our time ...
‘When the hour for action arrives let us be organized, disciplined, united, and ours may be the glory
to open “for Freedom’s cause a highway”’.
The I.R.B.’s motto had always been that ‘England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity’. According to
Bulmer Hobson’s memoirs, the Supreme Council decided in the autumn of 1914 that there should
be an insurrection before the end of the war, and a small committee including Tom Clarke and Sean
MacDermott was appointed to pursue the project.
The present Address appears to have been issued after that decision, probably in the early days
of August 1914. It is not clear who was the President who issued the Address. Denis McCullough
became IRB President later in 1914, replacing James Deakin, a businessman who had been relatively
inactive. Probably the document was drafted by Clarke and MacDermott. It is in any case the first
announcement of a firm intention to launch an insurrection during the course of the War, and so the
real beginning of planning for the Rising.
We can find no trace of any other copy of this document. There is none in the National Library
catalogue, none recorded on COPAC, and no mention in the standard histories. It may be a unique
surviving copy.
Provenance: the present vendor states that her father was Republican in outlook, and was in the
habit of dropping in to Tom Clarke’s newsagent’s shop in Dublin, and she believes he may have
acquired the document on one of these visits -- although that would have been against the rules,
since apparently he was not an IRB member.
€800 - €1,200
743
IRISH WAR NEWS
THE IRISH REPUBLIC, VOLUME 1, NO. 1, DUBLIN, TUESDAY APRIL 25 1916, 4pp newspaper,
containing Padraig Pearse’s historic first communique from the GPO, issued at 9.30am on the
morning of 25th April, announcing the setting up of the Provisional Government and naming its
seven members, and urging the citizens of Ireland to support the rebellion. Framed.
Lot 742
Lot 743