Cycnos | Numéros | Volume 15.2 - Irlande - Exils

Résumé :

The funeral of the Young Irelander T. D. MacManus (10 November 1861) was stage-managed by the founder of the I.R.B. James Stephens who wanted to strengthen his organization. It took place before the rising of 1867 and was a political event. John O’Mahony’s funeral (5 March 1877) took place at a moment when the Fenian movement was highly divided with the issue of the Home Rule. It did not have the same political impact but was more a tribute paid to a man who created the Fenian Brotherhood in America and together with James Stephens made the Irish revolutionary movement a living force. Patrick Pearse’s graveside panegyric on O’Donovan Rossa (1 August 1915) was an open appeal for insurrection.The funerals created a powerful myth which erased the humiliations of the past failures and built up a romantic nationalism driving to the struggle for independence.

Date de publication : 2008-07-09