Displaced Revolutionaries: Irish Republicans in America, 1923–39

In May 1923, thousands of defeated Irish Republican Army (IRA) members were forced to lay down their arms and accept the terms of a cease fire which ended the Irish Civil War. As these men attempted to assimilate once again into Irish society, life proved extremely difficult. A lack of employment opportunities proved especially problematic. For those who remained actively involved with the outlawed IRA, republican organizing also became sporadic and essentially moved underground. With these difficult social and economic conditions, hundreds of IRA members emigrated to the United States and settled in Irish-American centers, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco. Through the leadership of these young republicans, the US-based militant Irish republican movement became re-energized and regained a certain local and national significance, which lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War.

This poster using primary sources from the US and Ireland will present some of the IRA members who became local and national leaders of the militant Irish republican movement in the US from 1923 to 1939. Furthermore, the poster will show where these men settled across the US and describe why their unique individual lives reveal an important and often overlooked dimension of the twentieth century Irish-American historical narrative. Visual materials including photographs, newspaper articles and maps will be presented along with video recordings.