Joe Clarke | |
|---|---|
 Clarke in 1966 | |
| Vice President of Sinn Féin | |
| In office 1966–1972 | |
| Preceded by | Seán Caughey |
| Succeeded by | Máire Drumm |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Clarke 22 December 1882 |
| Died | 22 April 1976(1976-04-22) (aged 93)[1] |
| Resting place | Glasnevin Cemetery |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Irish Republican Army Anti-Treaty IRA |
| Battles/wars | Easter Rising Irish War of Independence |
Joe Clarke (Irish:Seosamh Ó Clérigh, 22 December 1882 – 22 April 1976) was anIrish republican politician.
Born inRush, County Dublin, Clarke worked for theSinn Féin Bank, and was active in theEaster Rising. On Easter Monday morning, on 24 April 1916, Clarke was one of 13 volunteers who held theMount Street Bridge for nine hours against the overwhelming forces of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment of the British Army.[2] When captured, he was shot in the head, but survived, and was instead imprisoned inLiverpool Prison,Wakefield Prison and thenFrongoch internment camp.[3]
On his return to Ireland, Clarke acted as the courier for theFirst Dáil[4] and served as anusher at the first meeting of the First Dáil.[5] He was interned from January 1921.[6] Released in 1923, he acted as caretaker of the Sinn Féin headquarters on Harcourt Street,[4] and founded the Irish Book Bureau.[3] Although theAnti-Treaty Sinn Féin rejected participation in the Dáil, they continued to contest local elections, and Clarke sat onDublin City Council.[7]
Clarke was a founder member ofComhairle na Poblachta in 1929.[8] In 1937, he worked withBrian O'Higgins to establish theWolfe Tone Weekly as a light-hearted party newspaper.[9] In August 1939, Clarke was interned[10] atArbour Hill, then later at Cork County Jail.[11]
Although Clarke had served underÉamon de Valera during the Easter Rising, the two became implacable opponents. Clarke was ejected from an official commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the First Dáil for interrupting de Valera's speech in order to raise the complaints of theDublin Housing Action Committee.[12] He vowed to outlive de Valera, he succeeded in this endeavour by outliving him a year.[13]
Clarke was elected as a vice-president of Sinn Féin in 1966. In the split of 1970, he supported theprovisional wing, remaining vice-president.[14] The Dublin South West Inner Citycumann of Sinn Féin is named for Clarke.[3]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice President ofSinn Féin 1966–1972 With:Larry Grogan (1966–1969) Cathal Goulding (1969–1970) Larry Grogan (1970–1971) Dáithí Ó Conaill (1971–1972) | Succeeded by |
