Mccauley Palmer

McCauley Palmer Professor McGowan ENGL 89 28 August 2018 John MacBride Biography Early Life Born on May 7th, 1865, John Macbride was the fifth of five sons to local shopkeepers Patrick and Honoria MacBride in Westport, Co. Mayo (McCracken). MacBride earned the nickname “Foxy Jack” early on due to his distinctive appearance as a ”small, wiry, red-headed man, with grey eyes and a long nose” (McCracken). The foundation of his career began with his education at the Christian Brothers' School in Westport and later at St Malachy's College, located in Belfast. From his fairly extensive education of the time, MacBride then traveled to Castlerea, Co, Roscommon to work in a draper’s shop although he had originally studied medicine. Eventually, his studies led him to pursue chemistry in Dublin working in Moore’s wholesale pharmacy. Early on MacBride became identified by the British as a “dangerous nationalist” due to his association with various Irish nationalist associations including the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Gaelic Athletic Association and Celtic Literary Society. These commitments sparked a life-long commitment to Irish nationalism and led him to travel to the U.S. and South Africa (Wikipedia). Role in Second Anglo-Boer War Perhaps MacBride’s most notable involvement was that of raising the Irish Transvaal Brigade in the Second Anglo-Boer War, later coined as “MacBride’s Brigade”(McCracken). The group arose in October of 1899 with the beginning of the South African War. However, MacBride was originally second in command to an ex-U.S. Cavalry officer, Colonel John Blake, since MacBride lacked true military experience. Once MacBride obtained Boer citizenship, he fought with a natal unit of five hundred soldiers consisting of Irish and Irish-Americans. The brigade consisted of two different forces, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, that joined forces under Blake and MacBride against the British in the name of Irish nationalism. Not all Irish shared this motive, the “West British” was an Irish group that fought for the British against the Boers. The regiment occupied lands ranging from the town of Ladysmith to the Orange Free State and interacted violently in the Battle of Colenso, Lord Roberts’ Cavalry and the Boers’ great Long Tom Run (Wikipedia). Military Police Michael Davitt assigned MacBride to sole command of the brigade following Colonel Blake’s injury at Ladysmith. In the midst of the violence, a second force, led by Arthur Lynch joined MacBride further strengthening the Irish. The popularity of Arthur Griffith and Maud Gonne spread the pro-Boer energy throughout Ireland Adult Life In contrast to MacBride’s positive relations with Maud Gonne politically, their advancement to a romantic relationship proved to be a mistake. As encouraged by Arthur Griffith, Gonne accompanied MacBride in his lecture travels around the U.S. and the two grew intimate. The two settled into marriage after they returned to Paris in 1903 even though friends and family were unsupportive because of Gonne’s nationalistic political motives. It is noted that she stated “she thought she was marrying Ireland”(Wikipedia). The combination of discrepancies in social status and temperament led the doomed relationship to divorce, and the custody of their son, Sean MacBride was a hot topic of gossip in Irish society. Gonne received custody of Sean because of MacBride’s new reputation of “cruelty, infidelity and drunkenness” and would be separated from his son until age twelve(Wikipedia). In addition to these intimate consequences, MacBride’s reputation also inflicted him occupationally. His superb military history helped him none in search of a permanent job. His later career simply consisted of occasional articles in Freemen’s Journal about his previous wartime experiences. The Easter Rising and Downfall of MacBride In the midst of moving from Dublin back to Paris, MacBride eventually reunited with Irish nationalists. As he traveled to Dublin to meet his brother Dr. Anthony MacBride, arriving on Easter from Westport he unexpectedly came across a cohort of the Irish “preparing for an insurrection” (Wikipedia). In MacBride’s case, this exchange only worsened his reputation, accelerating the British paranoia of an uprising because this cohort viewed him as a threat. Therefore, once the British confirmed MacBride’s nationalistic exchange, he was tried by court martial under the Defence of the Realm Act. On May 5th, 1916, John MacBride was shot by British troops in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin (Mcevoy). Today, MacBride is highly regarded as a “brave man” and “most soldierly of the defendants” in terms of his participation in war, but his political scandals followed him to his grave (McCracken). Irish poet W. B. Yeats describes him as a “drunken, vainglorious lout”; however, it must be considered that Yeats endured a lifelong pursuit of unrequited love with MacBride’s ex-wife, Maud Gonne. Nonetheless, as controversial as he was, John MacBride fulfilled a key role in the development of Irish nationalism. Works Cited 1. Author: Donal P. McCracken a. Title: John MacBride b. Date of Publication: not applicable c. URL:http://dib.cambridge.org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/quicksearch.do;jsessionid=1FBA9A 4678258AD5D4778ADC82060942# 2. Author: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia a. Title: John MacBride b. Date of Publication: July, 2013 c. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_MacBride 3. Author: Dermot Mcevoy a. Title: Easter Rising leader executed in 1916: John MacBride b. Date of Publication: May 5, 2018 c. URL: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/john-macbride-1916-execution .

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