The Harp Without The Crown – American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic

“The recognition of the Irish Republic is in line with the traditional policy of the United States ….and our government has already recognized the governments of fourteen South American republics…recognition is not a hostile act”. 1921 Quote from James E. Murray, Montana Chairperson and State President ofthe Montana Branch of the American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic (A.A.R.I.R.). “

Hello, this is John Conlan, host of the Rocky Road to Dublin here on KBMF, and welcome to this episode of The Harp Without the Crown, where I will be discussing the decline of the Butte Friends of Irish Freedom and its eventual transition and affiliation to a new organization, the American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic (A.A.R.I.R).In a previous episode, I discussed the Friends of Irish Freedom (FOIF), an Irish-American organization, established in1916, with nationwide branches. The organization was considered by many historians to be a fundraising powerhouse from the years1916 to 1921, with the Butte Branches of the Friends being major participants in these fundraising events.Unfortunately, there were significant disagreements between the American Friends of Irish Freedom leader Daniel Cohalan and Irish President Eamon De Valera, particularly over the use and purpose of fundraising money and the mission and goals of America’s FOIF. The dispute became public with De Valera’s trip to America in1919. He came to America to secure funds to finance Ireland’s”counter government” by establishing the Irish Bond Drive, which eventually raised over five million dollars. De Valera was also interested in tapping into the million dollars collected by the FIOF Victory Drive campaign. Cohalan was opposed to that idea and was quoted as “against sending one dollar to Ireland”. The argument over the use of the Irish Victory Drive Fund became one of the major points of contention between the Friends and President De Valera.

More disagreements over policy and money emerged between the two men and De Valera determined that the rift could not be reconciled. De Valera decided he needed a new Irish-American organization that he could control, and that decisions about fundraising, education, and lobbying would be made in Dublin and not New York.It quickly became clear that De Valera would not have adifficult time in attracting new members. Most of the Membership went to join his new organization and National Membership drastically declined to 5,000 in 1921. The New York World front page headline stated, “Cohalan shorn of his leadership and power by a rival Irish society”. One Butte Branchof the FOIF, the Thomas Ashe Branch, immediately severed affiliation with the national FOIF and became a branch of the new A.A.R.I.R. This Branch became an important part of the Butte Irish community in fundraising and public education, which will be detailed later. It is also important to note that De Valera, because he was a1916 Easter Rising hero, won the hearts of many Irish Americans,and easily attracted FOIF members to his new organization. DeValera’s popularity in Butte was significant and his appearance and reception in his 1919 visit to Butte brought out thousands,who greeted him on a parade route through uptown Butte while10,000 attended his address at Hebgen Field.

His new organization, the American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic, was established April 19,1921and held its first annual Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The Convention was held at the Medinah Temple in downtown Chicago and was attended by over 4,000 delegates, seated in groups according to their individual states. Butte sent a delegation to the Convention and future Montana Senator James E. Murray was nominated to be one of three Vice Presidents of the organization, securing Butte’s presence on the national scene.De Valera’s influence was evident at the Convention as the featured speaker was Harry Boland, a trusted associate of DeValera. A major part of his address concerned a very important announcement. Boland proposed floating a loan of $100,000,000to be raised in America. In addition to this ambitious loan program, the organization initiated an intensive public relations campaign in every US Congressional district, lobbying politicians to support resolutions for an Irish Republic. The Association wanted to have 1,000,000 members in forty-eight states with the goal of a Branch in every major town in the country. Eventually,the headquarters moved from Chicago to Washington D.C. in order to advance their Congressional lobbying efforts.Plans were made in Butte prior to the Chicago Convention to establish a Branch of the A.A.R.I.R., with the first meeting held at St. Lawrence Church on January 17,1921. Following that initial meeting, the first Montana State Convention of the Association was called to order on February 13,1921 by future Montana U.S.Senator James E. Murray. That meeting was held at the Butte Knights of Columbus on East Park St. with the goal of organizing local Branches and Councils, as well as discussing how best to aid Ireland’s independence.By late August 1921 there were eight branches in Butte named after famous Americans, such as Lincoln, Franklin, Washington and Wendall Phillips, as well as Irish patriots such as Thomas Francis Meagher and Thomas Ashe. Just six weeks after startingthe Association, twenty statewide Councils were established.James E. Murray’s role in the organization was significant, as he served not only as the national Association Vice President but also as the Montana State Chairperson of all Association Branches in Montana.

The Butte Branches were committed to the following ideals: recognizing an independent Republic of Ireland separate from the British Empire, combating British propaganda that painted Irish social and economic conditions in a positive light, and fundraising for Irish relief programs. As reported in the Butte newspapers, the Thomas Ashe Branch pledged to “continue to render financial and otherwise to the Republic proclaimed by the people of Ireland…we remain yours, for the Irish republic”. It should be noted there were Association Branches in Havre, Chinook, Anaconda,Dillon, Missoula, Hamilton, Phillipsburg, Helena, Great Falls and Judith Gap.In addition to fundraising, the Association understood the important role that education would play in shaping public opinion and keeping events in Ireland fresh and current in the minds of the Butte community. The Association accomplished this goal by sponsoring the visits of important Irish activists and politicians to Butte, such as Constance Markievicz, Kathleen Barry, Mary MacSwiney, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, Linda Kearns and Kathleen Boland. The women had direct connections to past and current events in Ireland, especially the Easter Rising, the 1919 to 1921 Irish War of Independence, and the recently passed Irish Free State Treaty. They shared these experiences with standing room only audiences in Butte, and helped educate the local Irish-American community about conditions in Ireland.

All of the above mentioned are covered in more detail on previous Harp Without the Crown episodes found on the butteamericaradio.org web page.The American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic was a powerful force in Butte well into the 1930’s.Having U.S. Senator James E. Murray, as its main spokes person and leader, significantly tied the Butte Branches to De Valera’s new Association. They contributed to, and sometimes outperformed, most states in fundraising for various Irish Relief programs. Another significant accomplishment involved the organization and sponsorship of the public speaking tours of some of the most influential women in Ireland to speak in Butte and Anaconda. This kept the cause of Irish independence fresh in the minds of Irish communities in Butte and Montana. It was one of three important Irish American organizations in Butte advocating for Irish Independence, and joined the Butte Robert Emmet Literary Association and Friends of Irish Freedom in connecting Butte to Ireland.

This is John Conlan and thanks for listening to this edition of The Harp Without the Crown.