Tom Clarke (Irish republican)

Thomas James Clarke (March 11, 1857-May 3, 1916) was an Irish revolutionary leader and was perhaps the man most responsible for the Easter Rising of 1916. He was born in 1857 on the Isle of Wight, though his family soon moved to Dungannon, County Tyrone. At the age of 18 he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and in 1883 he was sent to London to blow up London Bridge as part of the dynamiting campaign advocated by Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, one of the IRB leaders exiled in the United States. Clarke was quickly captured and subsequently served 15 years in Pentonville Prison. Following his release in 1898 he married Kathleen Daly (21 years his junior), whose uncle, John, he had met in prison. Together they emigrated to America, where Clarke worked for the Clan na Gael under John Devoy. In 1907 he returned to Ireland where he opened a tobacco shop in Dublin and immersed himself in the IRB which was undergoing a substantial rejuvenation under the guidance of younger men such as Bulmer Hobson and Denis McCullough. Clarke had a very close kinship with Hobson, who along with Sean MacDermott became his protegés.

Related Topics:
March 11 - 1857 - May 3 - 1916 - Irish - Easter Rising - Isle of Wight - Dungannon - County Tyrone - Irish Republican Brotherhood - London - London Bridge - Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa - United States - Pentonville Prison - Clan na Gael - John Devoy - Dublin - Bulmer Hobson - Denis McCullough - Sean MacDermott

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~