July 5th - Off to Shannon Airport for a Walking Tour of Southwest Ireland.
My seatmate on the flight to Shannon shared the history of her great grandfather - Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (10 September 1831 – 29 June 1915) was an Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
After giving an understanding that he would not return to Ireland, in
effect his exile, O'Donovan Rossa was released as part of the Fenian
Amnesty of 1870. Boarding the S.S. Cuba, he left for the United States with his friend John Devoy and three other exiles. Together they were dubbed "The Cuba Five." O'Donovan Rossa took up residence in New York City, where he joined Clan na Gael and the Fenian Brotherhood. Rossa additionally established his own newspaper dedicated to the cause of Irish national liberation from British rule, The United Irishman.In it Rossa advocated the terroristic use of dynamite bombs as a means of overthrowing the British occupation.
His paper was used to raise a so-called "resources for civilisation
fund," presumably for the purchase of dynamite and other armaments for
the Irish struggle.
Prior to leaving I listened to the BBC Audio of A Short History of Ireland. It was a great background for the trip.
