The origins of Irish republicanism, many people believe, lie in the late 18th century and derive from the American and French revolutions. Theobald Wolfe Tone, a founder of the Society of United Irishmen, is generally regarded as "the father of Irish republicanism" and is honoured as such by many Irish people.
But the roots of Irish republicanism can be found much further back in history - in 1627, in fact - and came to light during research by the late Cardinal Tomβs ╙ Fiaich. He disclosed the fruits of his research first in Leachta∅ Cholm Cille in 1971 and his lecture was later published in An Sagart, Maynooth. It is now reproduced in the second volume of The Republic, a journal of contemporary and historical debate published by the Ireland Institute.
Anti-monarchism
The piece is well worth a second publication since it throws a new light on attempts in the early 17th century to set up an Irish republic that conforms to several of the conditions of later times by explicating at least two of the generally accepted objectives of native republicanism - separation from England and anti-monarchism. Cardinal ╙ Fiaich's findings also disclose that the title of "Irish Republic" was used, probably for the first time, in documents dating from 1627.
The background to this proposal for the setting up of an Irish republic is a colourful and confused one, deriving, in the first place, from the so-called "Flight of the Earls" in 1607 when Hugh O'Neill (Earl of Tyrone), Rory O'Donnell (Earl of Tyrconnell) and Cuchonnacht Maguire (Lord of Fermanagh), together with their followers, left Ireland for permanent exile in Rome.
By 1616 they were both dead but their sons, the recognised Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, became involved in plans for an invasion of Ireland by the Irish Regiment in the Spanish Netherlands, recruited from the ranks of Irish militant exiles.
Such an invasion, however, depended on whether or not Spain and England were at war. At the time the plans for an invasion and the setting up of an Irish republic were first mooted, an uneasy peace prevailed.
Archives in Brussels
Nevertheless the plotters, who now included Archbishop Florence Conry of Tuam, and Major Owen Roe O'Neill, continued to lobby in Madrid and it is from documents of that period that we learn about the proposals for an Irish republic. While the plans of Conry and O'Neill have not yet been discovered, summaries of them have been found in archives in Brussels.
These refer to the "enterprise" of establishing as a government of Ireland "a republic, which should be so called on its flags and in its commissions. . .For Ireland to take the name and title of Republic appears to be the best way to carry out this diversion with all possible success and safety". They further explain that an insurrection in Ireland "should be proclaimed as being for the purpose of establishing the country as a free Republic. . ."
For the invasion itself, the young earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell would be joint generals commanding and the landing should take place at Killybegs, with the occupation of Derry as a primary objective. The reason behind the joint command lay in the pride and jealously of the two earls - neither could abide the other, according to Cardinal ╙ Fiaich.
To overcome this hindrance to the plans, it was suggested that a marriage bond between them would be advantageous. The teenage daughter of Rory O'Donnell and his wife, Brigid FitzGerald, named Mary Stuart O'Donnell, was mentioned as a suitable bride for young O'Neill. But the young lady was having none of it. "She has no wish whatsoever to marry Tyrone," the Spanish Infanta wrote in reply to Archbishop Conry's suggestion that she act as a go-between.
Expeditionary force
In the event, no invasion of Ireland occurred, mainly because Spain and England were not at war and the Spanish would not risk backing an expeditionary force to retake Ireland. Young O'Donnell, instead of sailing for Killybegs, met his death in a naval engagement against the French in 1642 and O'Neill, by then a member of the Spanish Supreme Council of War, was killed in action while fighting the Catalonian rebels in 1641.
"Thus perished," wrote Cardinal O Fiaich, "at the very time when they were most needed in Ireland owing to the rising of 1641, the two men who were in the running for the post of Taoiseach of the first Irish republic."
Cardinal ╙ Fiaich's article is but one of 11 contributions in The Republic designed to open up the debate about republicanism in a challenging and provocative way.
The journal can be had from The Ireland Institute, 27 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.