American Committee for Relief in Ireland
Encyclopedia
The American Committee for Relief in Ireland was formed through the initiative of Dr. William J. Maloney and others in 1920, with the intention of giving financial assistance to civilians in Ireland
who had been injured or suffered severe financial hardship due to the ongoing Irish War of Independence
. It was only one of several US based philanthropic
organisations that emerged following World War I
with a view to influencing the post-war settlement
from their perspective of social justice, economic development and long term stability in Europe. Some of them concentrated their efforts on events in Ireland, and while activists of Irish ethnicity were well represented, membership was far from confined to Americans of Irish heritage
. Apart from the ACRI, bodies such as the American Commission on Irish Independence and the American Commission on Conditions in Ireland raised money and attempted to influence US foreign policy in a manner sympathetic to the goal of Irish secession
from the United Kingdom
.
in the United States. Jim Larkin
, an Irish trade unionist
, who had been closely associated with James Connolly
in Ireland and with the Wobblies in the USA, was serving a five year sentence in Sing Sing
prison for promoting his socialist agenda. While his political views differed fundamentally from most of the Sinn Féin leadership, Irish republicanism
was seen by many of the American establishment
as based on a questionable ideology
. During the Irish war of independence
, the activities of Irish-American fund-raising organisations were viewed with suspicion and kept under close scrutiny by the intelligences services
including J. Edgar Hoover
, head of the General Intelligence Division of the Bureau of Investigation. US policy towards Irish concerns, initially hostile or at best indifferent, became somewhat less so following the 1920 U.S. presidential election
and the landslide victory of Warren G. Harding
over President Woodrow Wilson
.
on 11 December 1920 by elements of the British security forces known as the Black and Tans
, approaches were made by the city's Lord Mayor
, Donal O'Callaghan to the American Red Cross
for humanitarian assistance. The society, having taken advice from President Woodrow Wilson
, the British embassy, the Foreign Office and the British Red Cross, declined at this time to act on his appeal. Numerous organisations and committees across the United States, operating independently in raising humanitarian aid
money for Ireland realised that their funds would not be channelled through the U.S Committee of the Red Cross and so another distribution channel was needed. Five days after the inferno at Cork, a widely publicised meeting took place at the Banker's Club in New York
. It was organised by William Maloney with the intention of establishing a single nationwide organisation. It would have as its goal, explicitly and solely for the purpose of humanitarian relief, the raising and distribution in Ireland of $10 million. The body which soon emerged styled itself 'The American Committee for Relief in Ireland'. One of its founding members, Levi Hollingsworth Wood, approached a Dublin based businessman and fellow Quaker, James Douglas, requesting his assistance in the local distribution of the funds on a non-partisan basis. In Ireland, Douglas spoke with Laurence O'Neill, the Lord Mayor of Dublin
, who in turn contacted senior members of Sinn Féin to inform them of the wishes of the American Committee. These meetings culminated in the establishment of the Irish White Cross
, for the purpose of local distribution of the Committee's funds.
Account of the firestorm from a Nationalist perspective.http://homepage.eircom.net/~corkcounty/Timeline/Cork%20burning.htm
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...
who had been injured or suffered severe financial hardship due to the ongoing Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
. It was only one of several US based philanthropic
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
organisations that emerged following 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...
with a view to influencing the post-war settlement
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
from their perspective of social justice, economic development and long term stability in Europe. Some of them concentrated their efforts on events in Ireland, and while activists of Irish ethnicity were well represented, membership was far from confined to Americans of Irish heritage
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
. Apart from the ACRI, bodies such as the American Commission on Irish Independence and the American Commission on Conditions in Ireland raised money and attempted to influence US foreign policy in a manner sympathetic to the goal of Irish secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
.
Political background
This period of Irish political radicalism coincided with a Red ScareRed Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
in the United States. Jim Larkin
James Larkin
James Larkin was an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, born to Irish parents in Liverpool, England. He and his family later moved to a small cottage in Burren, southern County Down. Growing up in poverty, he received little formal education and began working in a variety of jobs...
, an Irish trade unionist
Irish Transport and General Workers' Union
The Irish Transport and General Workers Union, an Irish trade union, was founded by James Larkin in 1908 as a general union. Initially drawing its membership from branches of the Liverpool-based National Union of Dock Labourers, from which Larkin had been expelled, it grew to include workers in a...
, who had been closely associated with James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
in Ireland and with the Wobblies in the USA, was serving a five year sentence in Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
prison for promoting his socialist agenda. While his political views differed fundamentally from most of the Sinn Féin leadership, Irish republicanism
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
was seen by many of the American establishment
Ruling class
The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy - assuming there is one such particular class in the given society....
as based on a questionable ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
. During the Irish war of independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, the activities of Irish-American fund-raising organisations were viewed with suspicion and kept under close scrutiny by the intelligences services
Secret service
A secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
including J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
, head of the General Intelligence Division of the Bureau of Investigation. US policy towards Irish concerns, initially hostile or at best indifferent, became somewhat less so following the 1920 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 1920
The United States presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and a hostile response to certain policies of Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president. The wartime economic boom had collapsed. Politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's...
and the landslide victory of Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
over President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
.
Genesis of the ACRI
Following the burning of parts of Cork cityThe Burning of Cork
The Burning of Cork is the name commonly given to a devastating series of fires that swept through the centre of Cork City on the night of 11 December 1920. The burning and the subsequent controversy is one of the most significant events of the Irish War of Independence.-Fire:During the War of...
on 11 December 1920 by elements of the British security forces known as the Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
, approaches were made by the city's Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor of Cork
The Lord Mayor of Cork is the honorific title of the Chairman of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The incumbent is Terry Shannon of Fianna Fáil. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council.-History of office:In 1199 there...
, Donal O'Callaghan to the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
for humanitarian assistance. The society, having taken advice from President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, the British embassy, the Foreign Office and the British Red Cross, declined at this time to act on his appeal. Numerous organisations and committees across the United States, operating independently in raising humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
money for Ireland realised that their funds would not be channelled through the U.S Committee of the Red Cross and so another distribution channel was needed. Five days after the inferno at Cork, a widely publicised meeting took place at the Banker's Club in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was organised by William Maloney with the intention of establishing a single nationwide organisation. It would have as its goal, explicitly and solely for the purpose of humanitarian relief, the raising and distribution in Ireland of $10 million. The body which soon emerged styled itself 'The American Committee for Relief in Ireland'. One of its founding members, Levi Hollingsworth Wood, approached a Dublin based businessman and fellow Quaker, James Douglas, requesting his assistance in the local distribution of the funds on a non-partisan basis. In Ireland, Douglas spoke with Laurence O'Neill, the Lord Mayor of Dublin
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin is the honorific title of the Chairman of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent is Labour Party Councillor Andrew Montague. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the...
, who in turn contacted senior members of Sinn Féin to inform them of the wishes of the American Committee. These meetings culminated in the establishment of the Irish White Cross
White Cross (organization)
The Irish White Cross was established on the 1st of February 1921, as a mechanism for distributing funds raised by the American Committee for Relief in Ireland. It was managed by the Quaker businessman, and later Irish Free State senator, James Douglas. The White Cross continued to operate until...
, for the purpose of local distribution of the Committee's funds.
External links
New York Times contemporary report on the burning of Cork. "Ambush on Troops the Supposed Cause"http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E05E2D7163CE533A25750C1A9649D946195D6CFAccount of the firestorm from a Nationalist perspective.http://homepage.eircom.net/~corkcounty/Timeline/Cork%20burning.htm
- of American Committee for Relief in Ireland: 1922? at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Report of the Irish White Cross at Internet Archive