The ''Wolfe Tone Weekly'' (1937–1939) 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 ...

newspaper, edited by

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 ...

. It first appeared in September 1937. Unlike its republican predecessor, An Phoblacht (edited by

Peadar O'Donnell Peadar O'Donnell (; 22 February 1893 – 13 May 1986) was one of the foremost radicals of 20th-century Ireland. O'Donnell became prominent as an Irish republican, socialist politician and writer. Early life Peadar O'Donnell was born into an I ...

), the Wolfe Tone Weekly lacked radical social content. O'Higgins, who was assisted by

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 ...

veteran Joe Clarke, was a social conservative whose ideological emphasis was on

Gaelic revival The Gaelic revival () was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including folklore, mythology, sports, music, arts, etc.). Irish had diminished as a sp ...

ism and was influenced by ideals of

corporatism Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come toget ...

in vogue at the time, making regular references to the Papal encyclicals and occasionally praising European

integralism In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism () is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the ...

The Wolfe Tone Weekly generally endeavoured to promote the policies of the Republican Movement. Its contributors numbered people like Jimmy Steele, at the time serving seven years in Crumlin Road Prison,

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...

, and

Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin (born John Gerald Cunningham; 2 January 1910 – 13 June 1991) was an Irish language activist, Irish nationalist and far-right politician born in Belfast, Ireland. He was the founder and leader of Ailtirí na hAiséirghe ...

. ''The IRA'' by

Tim Pat Coogan Timothy Patrick "Tim Pat" Coogan (born 22 April 1935) is an Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster. He served as editor of ''The Irish Press'' newspaper from 1968 to 1987. He has been best known for such books as ''The IRA'', ''Ireland Since t ...

Palgrave Macmillan, 2002 (pgs. 229-233). The 17 December 1938 issue of the Wolfe Tone Weekly carried a statement from a body calling itself the Executive Council of Dáil Éireann, Government of the Republic, purporting that it had transferred governmental authority to the IRA (see

Irish republican legitimatism Irish republican legitimism denies the legitimacy of the political entities of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and posits that the pre- partition Irish Republic continues to exist. It is a more extreme form of Irish republicanism, w ...

). After the IRA's declaration of war on Britain in January 1939, and the attacks that followed as part of the IRA's

S-Plan The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ...

, the Wolfe Tone Weekly continued to appear, but was finally suppressed in September 1939, with the introduction of

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

in the Free State.

Notes

Defunct newspapers published in Ireland Defunct weekly newspapers Newspapers established in 1937 Publications disestablished in 1939 {{UK-newspaper-stub