Ireland's OWN: History

 

Francis Sheehy-Skeffington Feminist and Socialist Patriot (1878-1916)  —by Seán MacAodh Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, or Skeff as he would later be known to his friends, was born in 1878 in Bailieboro, Co. Cavan. He was educated by his father, whose idealistic opinions shone through in his teaching and greatly influenced Skeffington later in life. A life-long pacifist and adamant feminist, Francis attended University College as a contemporary and acquaintance of James Joyce. The revered author considered Skeff to be "the cleverest man at University College" besides himself, even though most of the time they disagreed greatly. Joyce considered Skeffington to be too radical in his feminism and Skeff saw Joyce�s decision to elope with Nora Barnacle as contemptuous. Joyce also publicly mocked Skeffington's idealism in his work, The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This "unsympathetic final pen-portrait" of Francis appeared as the ridiculously idealistic character of MacCann. This piece of literature did not help to solidify the men�s friendship and they parted on bad terms. Skeffington was irritated with Joyce, who left for Europe with Nora. As a young author for the magazine The New Age, Francis picked up many socialist ideas and further strengthened his opinions regarding nationalism and feminism. He spoke out for the complete equality of women in universities and also in the workplace. His opinions helped in the forming of the young labor movement in Ireland. In 1905, Francis joined the United Irish League and helped to found a small newspaper entitled the Nationalist with his comrade Thomas Kettle. He was a regular contributor and eventual editor of the Irish Citizen as well. During the Lock-out of 1913, as a member of the Peace Committee, Skeffington tried in vain to encourage further labor negotiations. His efforts failed as massive riots erupted and police brutality raged. Upon the formation of the Irish Citizen Army, Skeff was named vice-chairman after much deliberation that the organization would remain purely as a defense front against the malevolence of the police. He left when the ICA became a military organization. When World War I broke out in 1914, Skeff began a campaign speaking out against recruiting. He was arrested early in 1915 and sentenced to six months hard labour for "seditious acts". After a six-day hungerstrike, Francis was released and his sentence suspended. Upon his release, he traveled to America to canvass for Irish freedom. A friend of a number of the key figures of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Francis attempted to convince these men and women to abandon their guns and arm themselves with "weapons of the intellect and will." His resolve did not break the equal resolve of his fellow patriots to fight the British with violence. Francis Sheehy-Skeffington's only role in the Easter Rising was as a neutral party. He attempted to prevent the looting of Dublin's storefronts. A party of British scout troops arrested him and took him as hostage on a raid. During this raid, Francis and two other prisoners witnessed the murder of an unarmed young boy by a British officer. The next morning, these three men were taken out into the yard of Portobello (later Cathal Brugha) Barracks and executed on the order of the same British captain. It was with this act of violence on April 25, 1916, that Ireland lost one of its most modern and idealistic thinkers. This was just the beginning of what would be a terrible year for making martyrs of Irish patriots. *Published at Ireland's OWN per submission of the author Sources Ellmann, Richard. James Joyce. New York: Oxford UP, 1982. Feeney, William J. "Sheehy-Skeffington, Francis." Dictionary of Irish Literature. Ed. Robert Sheehy-Skeffington, Andre D. "The Hatter and the Crank." The Irish Times 5 Feb. 1982: C16. Page updated 30 Mar 2008 Ireland's OWN Logo by Eamann Website Design and Celtic Background by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2008 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.