James Aubrey (Seamus) Deakin (19 June 1874 – 10 December 1952) was an Irish nationalist and member of 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 ...
(IRB), of which he was president from 1913 to 1914.
Biography
He was born at Mount Auburn, Richmond, Dublin, the son of James Deakin, a traveller, and Mary Anne Tate. His family was
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the sec ...
. In 1901, he was living at 27 Millmount Avenue,
Drumcondra, with his wife, Catherine, a Scottish-born Presbyterian. Ten years later, the couple was living at 37 Thomond Terrace, Inn's Quay, Dublin, with their three children.
Deakin worked as a chemist in Hoyt's pharmacy in
O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Hen ...
and later owned his own shop in
Phibsborough
Phibsborough (; ), also spelled Phibsboro, is a mixed commercial and residential neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland.
The Bradogue River crosses the area in a culvert, and the Royal Canal passes through its northern reaches, nota ...
.
Deakin became involved in the Irish nationalist movement during the early 1900s, along with other
Protestant nationalists such as
George Irvine,
Ernest Blythe and
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.
...
, and within a short time became a high-ranking member in the
Drumcondra branch of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1913, he succeeded
John Mulholland as president of the IRB before acceding to
Denis McCullough
Denis McCullough (24 January 1883 – 11 September 1968) was a prominent Irish nationalist political activist in the early 20th century, who served as President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) from 1915 to 1916.
Early career – IRB ...
the following year. Deakin resigned from the Supreme Council and from the IRB about August 1914.
It is a common belief that he emigrated to the US, but that is almost certainly not true.
[ He died of a coronary thrombosis on 10 December 1952 in Drumcollogher, ]County Limerick
"Remember Limerick"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province
, subd ...
– where he had moved from Dublin about a decade previously – and was buried in the local cemetery.
Further reading
*Martin, Francis X. ''The Irish Volunteers, 1913–1915: Recollections and Documents''. Dublin: James Duffy & Co., 1963.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deakin, Seamus
1874 births
1952 deaths
Early Sinn Féin politicians
Irish Anglicans
Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members
Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Protestant Irish nationalists