Bulmer Hobson Papers,

1905-1968

This collection is one of the most important archives of manuscripts pertaining to the Irish revolution and in particular: the organisation of the Dungannon Clubs, a movement founded by Bulmer Hobson and Denis McCullough to popularise republican political beliefs in 1906; the foundation, organisation and philosophy of the Irish Volunteers from 1913-1916, including seminal events surrounding John Redmond's takeover of the organisation and the movement's subsequent split into rival factions; and the events surrounding the Easter Rising and the Howth gun running episode, including hand written accounts of seminal events by Eoin Mac Neill. The collection also contains a large amount of correspondence from contemporary political and literary figures such as Roger Casement, Eoin Mac Neill, Alice Stopford Green, Alice Milligan, Padraic O Conaire, Eimar O'Duffy, Brinsley Mac Namara, and Padraic Pearse, along with copies of several important Irish Volunteer manifestos, memorandums and publications.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Creator: Hobson, Bulmer
Contributors: Casement, Roger, 1864-1916
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Format: Manuscript
Language:English
Subjects:
Notes:Letters and papers of Bulmer Hobson relating to the Irish Volunteers, Easter Rising, and associated subjects.

Bulmer Hobson (1883-1969), patriot and Irish Volunteer organiser, was one of a small group of key IRB and Irish Volunteer leaders during the period 1913-1916. He is, somewhat unfairly, chiefly remembered for his opposition to the rebellion of Easter Week 1916, an event, both he and the Irish Volunteer leader, Eoin Mac Neill, were chiefly responsible for endeavouring to prevent. Hobson's role as Mac Neill's chief deputy during Easter Week, and their issuing of a series of countermanding orders cancelling the rebellion, threw the Rising into a state of confusion and severely limited the ability of the Irish Volunteers to launch a wider assault on the British administration in Ireland. Hobson's opposition to the Rising, however, like that of Mac Neill, was borne of legitimate military, political and moral concerns over the timing of the rebellion and his actions during Easter Week should not detract from his tireless, and often thankless, years of work on behalf of the various branches of the Irish Independence movement. A close confidiant of Roger Casement, Bulmer Hobson, a Belfast Quaker, was an unlikely pioneer of the revolutionary movement, a fact reflected in his personal papers.

Physical description: 49 folders.

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Arrangement:Fonds
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Draft copies of Eoin Mac Neill's memorandum to the Irish Volunteers to resist disarmament by the military,

1916 April 19.
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Bibliographic Details
In Collection: Bulmer Hobson Papers, 1905-1968
Main Creator: Mac Neill, Eoin, 1867-1945
Language:English
Extent:1 item (2 pages).
Format:Manuscript
Call Number: MS 13,174/16/2 (Manuscripts Reading Room)
Rights:Reproduction rights owned by National Library of Ireland.
Corporate Author:Irish Volunteers