Joe Clarke (, 22 December 1882 – 22 April 1976) was an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

politician.

Life

Born in

Rush, County Dublin Rush ( ), officially ''An Ros'', is a small seaside commuter town in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland. Rush lies on the Irish Sea coast, between Skerries and Lusk, and has a small harbour. It had a population at the 2022 census of 10,875. Rus ...

, Clarke worked for the Sinn Féin Bank, and was active in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), 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 aim of establishing an ind ...

. On Easter Monday morning, on 24 April 1916, Clarke was one of 13 volunteers who held the Mount Street Bridge for nine hours against the overwhelming forces of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment of the British Army. When captured, he was shot in the head, but survived, and was instead imprisoned in Liverpool Prison,

Wakefield Prison His Majesty's Prison Wakefield is a Category A men's prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison has been nicknamed the "Monster Mansion" along with HM Prison Frankland due to the large num ...

and then

Frongoch internment camp Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish ...

. On his return to Ireland, Clarke acted as the courier for the

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

Éamonn Mac Thomáis, ''Me jewel and darlin' Dublin'', p.139 and served as an usher at the first meeting of the First Dáil. He was interned from January 1921. Released in 1923, he acted as caretaker of the Sinn Féin headquarters on Harcourt Street, and founded the Irish Book Bureau. Although the Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin rejected participation in the Dáil, they continued to contest local elections, and Clarke sat on

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

. Clarke was a founder member of Comhairle na Poblachta in 1929. In 1937, he worked with

Brian O'Higgins Brian O'Higgins (; 1 July 1882 – 10 March 1963), also known as Brian na Banban, was an Irish writer, poet, soldier and politician who was a founding member of Sinn Féin and served as President of the organisation from 1931 to 1933. He was a ...

to establish the '' Wolfe Tone Weekly'' as a light-hearted party newspaper. In August 1939, Clarke was interned at

Arbour Hill Arbour Hill () is an area of Dublin within the inner city on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of the River Liffey, in the Dublin 7 postal district. Arbour Hill, the road of the same name, runs west from Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter, and sep ...

, then later at Cork County Jail. Although Clarke had served under

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 an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

during the Easter Rising, the two became implacable opponents. Clarke was ejected from an official commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the First Dáil for interrupting de Valera's speech in order to raise the complaints of the

Dublin Housing Action Committee The Dublin Housing Action Committee (DHAC) was a 1960s protest group formed in response to housing shortages in Dublin, Ireland's capital city. It quickly moved to direct action and successfully squatted buildings to oppose redevelopment plans. ...

. He vowed to outlive de Valera, he succeeded in this endeavour by outliving him a year. Clarke was elected as a vice-president of Sinn Féin in 1966. In the split of 1970, he supported the provisional wing, remaining vice-president.Robert William White, ''Ruairí Ó Brádaigh'', p.162 The Dublin South West Inner City

cumann A ( Irish for association; plural ) is the lowest local unit or branch of a number of Irish political parties. The term ''cumann'' may also be used to describe a non-political association. Cumainn are usually made up of 5+ (the recommendation ...

of Sinn Féin is named for Clarke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Joe 1882 births 1976 deaths Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Irish republicans interned without trial Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish shooting survivors People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Members of Dublin City Council Politicians from County Dublin Sinn Féin politicians