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James Connolly Birthplace?

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  • 09-02-2008 9:07pm
    #1
    roxychix
    Registered Users Posts: 287 ✭✭


    hi
    i am just a bit confused about this was james connolly born in scotland or monaghan because i assumed he was born in scotland then moved to irelandi also know he served in the scotish army for a while. i just noticed this when i was reading 1910 census and he filled in his birth place as monag. was he doing this just to seem more irish or am i just making a complete mistake.
    been annoying me for the past couple of days maybe having an MA doessnt mean i am right
    cheers


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    #2
    EamonnKeane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 950 ✭✭✭EamonnKeane


    He was born in the Cowgate slums ("Little Ireland") of Edinburgh in 1868 to Irish parents, served in the British Army (no such thing as the Scottish Army, although it was probably a Scottish regiment) in Ireland 1882-89. He did claim in the 1901 and 1911 censuses to having been born in Monaghan, a lie.


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    #3
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Why did he lie? I'd be interested to know, thanks :)


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    #4
    roxychix
    Registered Users Posts: 287 ✭✭roxychix


    probably cause wanted to seem more irish when he is running an irish organisation. cool i knew i wasnt wrong just had to double check wasnt to sure bout the army situation thanks for sorting that out for me


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    #5
    Shutuplaura
    Registered Users Posts: 470 ✭✭Shutuplaura


    It is strange. I'm not sure If he felt he had to lie, Larkin was from Liverpool and I'm doubt he tried to hide that.


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    #6
    McArmalite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,476 ✭✭✭McArmalite


    Interesting, didn't know about him claiming to be from Monaghan. Yeah, he was from a rough Irish ghetto called Cowgate, things were probably the same for Irish people in Edinburgh as Glasgow back then, not that they mildly took it on the chin either !!!!

    As for his service in the british army, correct me if I'm wrong, but like Orwell's service in the colonial police in India, Connolly became very anti establishment serving in the british army in North Cork. In particuliar, and I think he states it in his writings, he was assigned to guard at a court sitting in some town in Cork ( Ireland even then was not like anywhere else in the so called 'UK', soldiers had to be often present at courts, the RIC from their inception was a fully armed paramilitary force, unlike the police on the 'mainland' ). One of the cases invovled a man who could only speak Irish and had written his name & address on his papers for ownership of his pony and trap in Irish, which was illegal. Been summoned to the court, the poor man couldn't even understand the proceedings but was still finded. This horrified Connolly, in fact it was a life changing experience, and as far as I remember, he applied to leave the british army immediately which could only be done by not accepting wages for 6 or 12 months or something.

    It's a long time since I read about that, correct me anyone if I'm wrong, but that's basically how I remember it.


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    #7
    ejmaztec
    Registered Users Posts: 24,075 ✭✭✭✭ejmaztec


    Off topic, I know, but as well as the more famous "English/Scottish" people involved in the Rising, there were obviously some mysterious English people fighting in the Civil War.

    At the incident at Clashmealcon, across from Ballybunion, some anti-treaty guys were holed up in some caves at the foot of a cliff. I think that they were told that there'd be no trouble if they were to surrender, so a rope was lowered for them to climb up. The rope was cut and they were wiped out. One of them was called Hathaway (same as Shakespeare's in-laws). No-one has a clue what he was doing there, or where he came from.


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    #8
    Ohyeah
    Closed Accounts Posts: 102 ✭✭Ohyeah


    hiya- was interested to read this about Connolly's birthplace and the census

    anyone have a good list of books about Connolly on-line, I can only find partial lists? anyone read any books about him tha tthey thought were of particular interest- I've read a couple, but he seems to gone "out of fashion" amoung historians lately?


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    #9
    Dummy
    Registered Users Posts: 984 ✭✭✭Dummy


    Am searching 1911 Census for James Connolly's entry. Where did he live in Dublin?


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    #10
    boneless
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭boneless


    Ohyeah wrote: »
    hiya- was interested to read this about Connolly's birthplace and the census

    anyone have a good list of books about Connolly on-line, I can only find partial lists? anyone read any books about him tha tthey thought were of particular interest- I've read a couple, but he seems to gone "out of fashion" amoung historians lately?

    Donal Nevin wrote a good biography of Connolly in the last few years. I have not read it but believe it is very informative.

    I read CD Greaves bio a number of years back, 'The Life and Times of James Connolly'. Informative but Greaves can make everything sound boring...


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