Thomas Ashe
Encyclopedia
Thomas Patrick Ashe born in Lispole
, County Kerry
, Ireland
, was a member of the Gaelic League, the Irish Republican Brotherhood
(IRB) and a founding member of the Irish Volunteers
. Having entered De La Salle Training College, Waterford in 1905 he began his teaching career as principal of Corduff National School, Lusk, Co. Dublin in 1908. He spent the last years before his death teaching children in Lusk, North County Dublin
, where he founded the award-winning Lusk Black Raven Pipe Band as well as Round Towers Lusk GFHC in 1906. During the summer of 1913, he was one of the IRB members that Douglas Hyde
, president of the Gaelic League, attempted to expel.
Commanding the Fingal
battalion
of the Irish Volunteers
, Ashe took part in the Easter Rising
of 1916. Ashe's force of 60-70 men engaged British forces around north County Dublin
during the rising. The battalion won a major victory in Ashbourne, County Meath
where they engaged a much larger force capturing a significant quantity of arms and up to 20 Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC) vehicles. 24 hours after the rising collapsed, Ashe's battalion surrendered on the orders of Padraig Pearse.
On 8 May 1916, Ashe and Éamon de Valera
were court-martial
led and both were sentenced to death. The sentences were commuted to penal servitude for life. Ashe was imprisoned in Lewes Prison
in England.
With the entry of the U.S.
into World War I
in April 1917, the British government was put under more pressure to solve the 'Irish problem'. De Valera, Ashe and Thomas Hunter
led a prisoner hunger strike
on 28 May 1917 to add to this pressure. With accounts of prison mistreatment appearing in the Irish press and mounting protests in Ireland, Ashe and the remaining prisoners were freed on 18 June 1917 by Lloyd George
as part of a general amnesty.
Upon release, Ashe returned to Ireland and began a series of speaking engagements.
In August 1917, Ashe was arrested and charged with sedition
for a speech that he made in Ballinalee
, County Longford
where Michael Collins
had also been speaking. He was detained at the Curragh but was then transferred to Mountjoy Prison
in Dublin. He was convicted and sentenced to two years hard labour. Ashe and other prisoners, including Austin Stack
, demanded prisoner of war
status. As this protest evolved Ashe again went on hunger strike on 20 September 1917. On 25 September 1917, he died at the Mater Hospital after being force-fed by prison authorities. At the inquest
into his death, the jury
condemned the staff at the prison for the "inhuman and dangerous operation performed on the prisoner, and other acts of unfeeling and barbaric conduct".
Ashe's death had a significant impact on the country increasing Republican recruitment, his body lay in state at Dublin City Hall, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery
in Dublin.
He was also a relative of Catherine Ashe, the paternal grandmother of American
actor Gregory Peck
, who emigrated to the United States
in the 19th century.
Lispole
Lispole is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated on the Dingle Peninsula 5 miles east of the town of Dingle and 25 miles west of Tralee on the N86 National Secondary Route.-Transport:...
, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, was a member of the Gaelic League, the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
(IRB) and a founding member of the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
. Having entered De La Salle Training College, Waterford in 1905 he began his teaching career as principal of Corduff National School, Lusk, Co. Dublin in 1908. He spent the last years before his death teaching children in Lusk, North County Dublin
Lusk, County Dublin
Lusk is a village in Ireland located north of Dublin city centre. The name "Lusk" is said to date back to St. MacCullin, who founded a church there c.450. Oral tradition suggests MacCullin may have either lived in or been buried in a cave and that the name "Lusk" derives from an old Gaelic word...
, where he founded the award-winning Lusk Black Raven Pipe Band as well as Round Towers Lusk GFHC in 1906. During the summer of 1913, he was one of the IRB members that Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde , known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn , was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945...
, president of the Gaelic League, attempted to expel.
Commanding the Fingal
Fingal
Fingal is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. With its county seat located in Swords, it has a population of 239,992 according to the 2006 census...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
, Ashe took part in the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916. Ashe's force of 60-70 men engaged British forces around north County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
during the rising. The battalion won a major victory in Ashbourne, County Meath
Ashbourne, County Meath
Ashbourne, historically called Killeglan or Kildeglan , is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 20 km north of Dublin city centre and is bypassed by the M2 motorway.-History:...
where they engaged a much larger force capturing a significant quantity of arms and up to 20 Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) vehicles. 24 hours after the rising collapsed, Ashe's battalion surrendered on the orders of Padraig Pearse.
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
were court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
led and both were sentenced to death. The sentences were commuted to penal servitude for life. Ashe was imprisoned in Lewes Prison
Lewes (HM Prison)
HM Prison Lewes is a local men's prison, located in Lewes in East Sussex, England. The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
in England.
With the entry of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in April 1917, the British government was put under more pressure to solve the 'Irish problem'. De Valera, Ashe and Thomas Hunter
Thomas Hunter (Irish politician)
Thomas Hunter an Irish republican and politician. He was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood , Sinn Féin, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Army ....
led a prisoner hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
on 28 May 1917 to add to this pressure. With accounts of prison mistreatment appearing in the Irish press and mounting protests in Ireland, Ashe and the remaining prisoners were freed on 18 June 1917 by Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
as part of a general amnesty.
Upon release, Ashe returned to Ireland and began a series of speaking engagements.
In August 1917, Ashe was arrested and charged with sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
for a speech that he made in Ballinalee
Ballinalee
Ballinalee, formerly St Johnstown , is a village in north County Longford, Ireland. It is situated on the River Camlin, and falls within the parish of Clonbroney....
, County Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
where Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
had also been speaking. He was detained at the Curragh but was then transferred to Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
in Dublin. He was convicted and sentenced to two years hard labour. Ashe and other prisoners, including Austin Stack
Austin Stack
Austin Stack was an Irish revolutionary and politician.-Early life:Stack was born in Ballymullen, Tralee, County Kerry. He was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Tralee. At the age of fourteen he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted Gaelic footballer, he...
, demanded prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
status. As this protest evolved Ashe again went on hunger strike on 20 September 1917. On 25 September 1917, he died at the Mater Hospital after being force-fed by prison authorities. At the inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
into his death, the jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
condemned the staff at the prison for the "inhuman and dangerous operation performed on the prisoner, and other acts of unfeeling and barbaric conduct".
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery , officially known as Prospect Cemetery, is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland with an estimated 1.5 million burials...
in Dublin.
He was also a relative of Catherine Ashe, the paternal grandmother of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, who emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 19th century.
See also
- List of people on stamps of Ireland
- The First Hunger Striker: Thomas Ashe 1917 Sean O Mahony. Publisher: 1916–1921 Club1916–1921 ClubThe 1916–1921 Club was founded in the 1940s. The motivation for the Club was to heal the divisions created by the Irish Civil War. Protagonists from both sides were invited to join. The Association of the Old Dublin Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann was also open to the surviving members of the War of...
.