Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa: Unrepentant Fenian

By Shane Kenna

Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa died on 29th June 1915 at Staten Island, New York. On hearing of his death, Tom Clarke sent an urgent telegram from Dublin to John Devoy in New York, with the simple message: “Send his body home at once”. His funeral in Glasnevin Cemetery on 1st August that year was one of the largest political funerals in Irish history, and is now accepted as the precursor to the Easter Rising. Patrick Pearse famously declared at Rossa’s graveside, ‘The fools, the fools, the fools! They have left us our Fenian dead! And while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace!’

• Language: English
• Publisher: Original Writing
• Release date: Jul 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781785370175

Shane Kenna

Shane Kenna was a Doctor of modern Irish history with an interest in late Victorian and Edwardian Irish nationalism. He was a regular speaker at international academic conferences, a media presence with Newstalk Radio, Near FM, BBC Radio 4 and published author who wrote for Irish Academic Press, The O'Brien Press, History Ireland, the BBC History Magazine and Kilmainham Tales. Shane lectured at Trinity College, Dublin and Saor Ollscoil na hÉireann University and also designed modules on Irish history for the American College, Arcadia University, as well as organising and managing several courses on Modern History. He died in February 2017.