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James Connolly, co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army and the Commandant-General of the Dublin division of the rebel forces in the 1916 Easter Rising was by birth, a Scotsman. He first saw the light of an Edinburgh day on June 5th 1868 in an overcrowded slum in the city’s Cowgate, also known as Little Ireland. Son of Monaghan folk he went to work at the age of eleven, eventually becoming a labour organiser in the USA, Belfast and Dublin. The ICA was in fact established with the purpose of defending striking workers from the depredations of the Royal Irish Constabulary during the 1913 Dublin Lockout. Connolly also opposed the World War 1 enlistment of Irish people into the British Army and its concomitant of the possible granting of Home Rule. Accordingly on the first day of the Rising the ICA marched from its headquarters at Liberty Hall to the General Post Office in Sackville Street, now O’Connell Street, in the city centre.
The Scotsman who retained his native accent till the end of his short life was far from being the only participant from overseas who played a role in the events of 1916. A strongly symbolic action was performed on the first day of the insurgency by a Spanish-speaking young man whose origins lay several thousand miles away from Dublin. Eamon Bulfin the son of an Irish immigrant was born and brought up in Bueno Aires. William, his father, had been a successful writer and newspaper publisher in Argentina and had brought the family back to Ireland in 1908. On their return and having reached the age of sixteen, Eamon was sent to Pádraig Pearse’s school, Scoil Éanna/St. Enda’s located first in Ranelagh then in Rathfarnam. Bulfin stayed close to his teacher and was his aide-de-camp while Pearse planned the uprising. On the 22nd April when Connolly arrived at the GPO he asked Sean O’Kelly a future president of Ireland, to fetch two flags from Liberty Hall. When they were delivered, Connolly handed them to the young Argentinian with instructions to hoist them. Memorably, he placed them on the roof at the front corners of the building with the tricolour overlooking Henry Street and a green flag with the inscription ‘Irish Republic’ over Princess Street. Thus the soon-to-be Irish representative in Argentina’s place in history was assured.
Albert Weeks, a Jewish craftsman from London, represented a different kind of symbolism, emblamatic of the notion that the idea of freedom transcends ethnic and religious boundaries. He had come to Dublin to avoid being conscripted into the British Army. It has been speculated that he had been working on the foundations for the new unified synagogue being built at Greenville Hall and located about two miles from the centre of the city. The small Hebraic community had ‘til then worshipped in a number of small congregations, indentifiable by location, profession or class. Albert arrrived at Liberty Hall and asked to be allowed to join in the enterprise. His justification he stated, was that on principle he couldn’t participate in a British imperialist war, but also he had a conscientious objection to missing the chance to participate in a fight for liberty. Albert stayed in the GPO all of Easter Week but sadly was shot dead during the withdrawal from the building on the Friday of the week.
On Easter Monday the Scandinavian peoples joined in the rebellion. According to Damian Shiels in his blog ‘Know Your Place’ the officer who was minding the ground floor windows had his attention drawn to two figures standing outside. When asked what they wanted, they replied that they wanted to fight and asked to be let in. It transpired that they were seamen, one from Finland and one from Sweden. Their reasoning was that Russia was threatening their home countries, Britain was an ally of Russia, therefore they were on the side of anyone fighting against Russia’s friend. Once admitted, they were given guns and put on guard duty. The Swedish gentleman spoke English but he never revealed his name. His friend, who apparently had no English, was identified as Tony Makapaltis. Around guns he was something of a liability. Given a shotgun he accidentally fired it, injuring a comrade. Connolly threatened him with the direst of punishments, at which point they were both taken off firearms duty. Both men stayed in the GPO till the surrender. The Swedish Consul took his citizen home. His companion however spent some time in Kilmainham Jail. A fellow prisoner observed that despite not having learned any English and not being a Catholic, by the time he left confinement the Finn could say the rosary in Irish.
Madeleine ffrench Mullen, whose anniversary occurred earlier this week was the eldest child of St Laurence ffrench Mullen a surgeon serving in the Royal Navy. Born Malta in 1880 when her father was stationed there, she came to live in Ireland when her father retired. A suffragette and the lover of Kathleen Lynne who was one of only two medical doctors to side with the rebels, she was part of the St Stephen’s Green/College of Surgeons garrison. As a lieutenant she commanded fifteen woman during the fighting. She tended the wounded and helped civilians to evacuate the area. Post-rising she and Lynne founded St. Ultan’s hospital and campaigned for the rights of the poor folk of the city. Margaret Skinider was one of ten woman who came from Glasgow to take part. Skinider was wounded three times but survived to eventually settle in Ireland, becoming president of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation.
James Connolly who was executed in Kilmainham Jail on the 12th May 1916 and his part in the insurrection has long been recognised. Margaret Skinider’s story has come to light only in recent times. In all of the hullabaloo which is sure to attend the centenary of the Rising perhaps these and other lesser known ‘strangers’ might at last be acknowledged.
