The Friends of Irish Freedom was an Irish-American

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

organisation founded at the third Irish Race Convention held in New York (4–5 March 1916). Supported by the United Irish League, the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in N ...

and other leading Irish-American organisations.

Clan na Gael Clan na Gael ( ga, label=modern Irish orthography, Clann na nGael, ; "family of the Gaels") was an Irish republican organization in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, successor to the Fenian Brotherhood and a sister org ...

dominated the Executive (holding 15 of the 17 seats). The Organisation's aims were to 'encourage and assist any movement that will tend to bring about the National Independence of Ireland'. Among the first members of the Executive Committee were

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...

(President), Thomas Hughes Kelly (Treasurer) and John D. Moore (Secretary). An office was set up in Sweden and relations established with

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. The Friends of Irish Freedom supported the

1916 Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

and in the months following, raised $350,000 through the Irish Relief Fund to assist dependents of many who fought in the Rising. In 1917, the Executive Committee of the Friends of Irish Freedom circulated a petition calling for the Independence of Ireland throughout the US and secured several hundred thousand signatures. President Wilson in turn directed Secret Service agents to examine the membership and funding of the organisation. In May 1918, the Friends of Irish Freedom organised the fourth Irish Race Convention during which

Diarmuid Lynch Diarmuid Lynch (10 January 1878 – 9 November 1950) was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Sinn Féin member of the First Dáil. Early life Lynch, born Jeremiah Christopher, was born in Granig, Tracton, County Cork and was the so ...

became National Secretary holding the post until his return to Ireland in 1932. By 1920, there was a Regular membership of 100,000 and 484 Associate Branches with an Associate membership of 175,000. During the Irish War of Independence, the Friends of Irish Freedom raised over $5,000,000 in

Dáil loans The Dáil loans were bonds issued in 1919–1921 by the Dáil (parliament) of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic to raise the Dáil funds or Republican funds, used to fund the state apparatus the Republic was attempting to establish in oppositio ...

for the newly declared Irish Republic through the promotion of Bond Certificates. Legal advisor to the organisation for the Bond Drive was

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. In October 1920, a rift developed between the Irish American leaders and

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

which resulted in a split between the Friends of Irish Freedom in the United States and the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

in Ireland. Prior to his departure from the US, de Valera founded a rival organisation—the American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic—to take over the activities of the Friends. The Friends of Irish Freedom was wound up in 1932 following extensive litigation concerning the funds raised for the Irish Republic which were claimed by de Valera, most of the funds were returned to the original donors.

Publications

* Brine, Blanche Marie
''Sinn Fein: An Epitome.''
Pamphlet no. 16. Washington, DC: Friends of Irish Freedom, National Bureau of Information, June 1920. * Cobb, Irvin S., ''The Lost Irish Tribes in the South: Noted American Writer Delved into History and Found that Dixie wasn't as Anglo-Saxon as It Thought.'' Friends of Irish Freedom, National Bureau of Information, n.d. (c. 1920). *Hickey, D. J. & J.E.Doherty. ''A Dictionary of Irish History.'' Gill & MacMillan. Ireland 1980. p. 181. * Tansill, Charles Callan. ''America and the Fight for Irish Freedom.'' Devin Adair Co. NY. 1957. pp. 189, 228, 233-234, 415-416. * Wright McCormick, ''Irish Republican Arbitration Courts: Their Work in Combating Land and Emigration Evils.'' Pamphlet no. 17. Washington, DC: Friends of Irish Freedom, National Bureau of Information, June 1920.

Publications

Footnotes

Further reading