WHYTE'S THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR SATURDAY & SUNDAY 25 & 26 July 2020

80 History 129 1915 (30 July). Oration of P. H. Pearse over Rossa’s Grave. Letterpress, published by Fergus O’Connor. An important document in the history of revolution in the early 20th century: “They think that that they [the British Government] have provided against everything; but the fools , the fools, the fools! They have left our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree will never be at peace.” Family of Thomas Ashe; Private collection. Condition: Very good, reduced at top. According to a contemporary report: “The funeral of the late Fenian, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, was the occasion of one of the most striking nationalist demonstrations ever witnessed in Dublin. Special trains brought thousands of people from all parts of Ireland, while people also travelled from England and from the United States. A notable feature of the funeral was that it was the first time since the division in their ranks that the men of the National and the Irish Volunteers were brought together as one body. Many of these Volunteers acted as marshals, under the charge of leaders such as The O’Rahilly and Eamon de Valera. The remains of the Fenian leader had lain in state at City Hall for several days following the arrival of his coffin from New York. Before removal from the building, the coffin was covered by Tom Clarke, an old friend of the deceased. Members of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army then carried it to the hearse. In the leading mourning coaches were the deceased’s widow Mrs. O’Donovan Rossa, his daughter Eileen O’Donovan Rossa, Countess Markievicz, Fr. Michael O’Flanagan and others. Prayers were recited at the burial by Fr. O’Flanagan, and Patrick Pearse gave an oration first in Irish and then in English. The oration was published immediately after the funeral and is regarded as a forerunner to the Proclamation of The Irish Republic less than a year later. Estimate €250-€350 (approx £230-£320) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 129