Mary Ellen Spring Rice (14 September 1880 – 1 December 1924) was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

activist during the early 20th century.''Thomas Spring Rice and the Peopling of Australia''
Limerickcity.ie (43)

Biography

Mary Spring Rice and Molly Childers on board the Asgard, 1914

Spring Rice was born into an aristocratic

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

family in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She was the daughter of

Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon (31 May 1849 – 24 December 1926) was an Anglo-Irish politician and landowner, who helped to found the anti-partition Irish Dominion League and was a key figure in the development of Irish co ...

, and a great-granddaughter of the British

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

, Thomas Spring Rice. Her maternal grandfather was the bishop, Samuel Butcher. She was brought up on the family's Mount Trenchard estate overlooking the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

. It was a progressive, liberal household and independence of thought was encouraged. So too was the Gaelic culture and, at home, Spring Rice and her brothers were taught how to speak fluent Irish. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Spring Rice hosted many Irish nationalist and

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

meetings at her home, and she became a close friend of

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...

and her cousin Nelly O'Brien. During 1913 and 1914, Spring Rice was actively involved in gun-running, most notably the

Howth gun-running The Howth gun-running ( ) involved the delivery of 1,500 Mauser rifles to the Irish Volunteers at Howth harbour in Ireland on 26 July 1914. The unloading of guns from a private yacht during daylight hours attracted a crowd, and the authorities or ...

.Martin, Francis Xavier, 1922–2000 (ed.). The Howth gun-running and the Kilcoole gun-running, 1914 ecollections and documents foreword by Eamon de Valera. Dublin: Browne and Nolan, (1964) This involved helping to ship weapons to be used in an Irish uprising from Germany into Ireland. Together with Molly Childers, she raised £2,000 towards the purchase of 900 Mauser rifles from Germany, many of which were used in the 1916

Easter 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 t ...

. Spring Rice sailed on the

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

to collect the guns and helped to unload them in Ireland. During the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

, she allowed her Mount Trenchard home to be used as a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

fighters and the family boat was used to carry men and arms over the

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary ( gle, Inbhear na Sionainne) is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to th ...

Con Collins Cornelius Collins ( ga, Conchobhar Ó Coileáin; 13 November 1881 – 23 November 1937), known as Con Collins, was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was born in Arranagh, Newcastle West, County Limerick. He had joined the Gaelic League by 191 ...

stayed with her regularly. She helped train local women as nurses to tend to wounded nationalists and acted as an IRA message carrier between

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. Throughout this time, she maintained her aristocratic façade and society connections, inviting senior

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politicians to Mount Trenchard to pressure them to support Irish independence.

Death

Spring Rice started to suffer from tuberculosis in 1923, and died unmarried in a sanatorium in Clwdyy,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, on 1 December 1924. She was buried in Mount Trenchard, Loghill, County Limerick, Ireland. When her coffin arrived at Foynes railway station on 4 December 1924 it was greeted by several society members, including members of the Foynes Branch I.T.G.W.U. lined up in military formation. The following day, the entirety of the Foynes Branch I.T.G.W.U. attended the funeral ''Limerick Leader'', December 13, 1924

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spring Rice, Mary 1880 births 1924 deaths Protestant Irish nationalists

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Daughters of barons People from County Limerick Irish activists Irish women activists Irish Anglicans 20th-century Anglo-Irish people