A collection of photographs and documents, telling the story of John Devoy's lost love, Eliza Kenny [nee Kilmurray];

accompanied by miscellaneous Devoy related material;
1871-1928
Bibliographic Details
Main Creator: Devoy, John, 1842-1928
Format: Manuscript
Language:English
Citation:National Library of Ireland. Department of Manuscripts.
Subjects:
Notes:Includes 1 photograph of Eliza Kenny as a young girl, when engaged to marry Devoy; a photo of her in old age, now Mrs. Elizabeth Kilmurray [2 copies]; another of Mrs. Kilmurray with her niece Mary Curley; 1 copy of "The Gaelic American", 19 March 1927, [very delicate, brittle paper], with obituary account of Mrs. Kilmurray and the circumstances which prevented her marriage to Devoy. [After his arrest and imprisonment, she said she would wait for him and did so although he had released her from her promise. However, he was mistakenly told that she had married and subsequently that she had died [it was in fact another Miss Kenny, Eliza's sister], and so did not send for her. In due course she married someone else. Devoy remained unmarried and was both astonished and initially distraught to find her still alive when he returned to Ireland in 1924]; 1 contemporary photograph of "The Cuba Five"' the released Fenian prisoners including Devoy and Rossa deported to the United States on the steamship Cuba in 1871 - inscribed on verso by Devoy "To Mrs. E. Killmurray, nee Eliza Kenny, in loving memory of our engagement when she was a fine girl of 20 (1866) and with deep regret at the misfortunes which separated us. From John Devoy, New York, July 21". Also included is a 1924 photo of Devoy in Dublin with his Irish niece and nephew taken at their home in Fairview; 2 reproduced photos of Devoy during his Irish visit, 1 with President Cosgrave "Taken July 31, 1924, at the President's Office" with a copy of the signatures of both men underneath [original appears to have been a mounted photograph] and 1 a mounted photograph of Devoy's funeral.

John Devoy was a Fenian organiser in 1865-6. Sentenced to 15 years in jail, he was released in 1871 on the condition that he did not re-enter the United Kingdom. He went to the US where he became leader of Clan na-Gael, the IRB's American counterpart. He supported Davitt, Parnell and Tom Clarke and was still actively involved in Irish Revolutionary affairs in 1916. He supported the Treaty as a necessary step to full Irish Independence, returning to Ireland briefly in 1924.

Physical description: 1; folder

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Arrangement:Fonds