Sighle, poss. at Ailesbury Rd.
Family tree - Humphrys - Sighle Humphreys |
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Sighle Humphreys, revolutionary,
joined
Cumann na mBan,
on committee of Irish Volunteer Dependants' Fund after 1916 Rising
(support for dependants of those killed or imprisoned)
[Ward, 1983],
on Republican side in Civil War,
she was involved in the
Free State raid on Ailesbury Rd in
the Civil War, Nov 1922,
in which Ernie O'Malley was captured
and a Free State soldier was shot dead,
there were always rumours that she shot the soldier,
but she always denied it,
she was jailed by the Free State after the raid,
she was in Mountjoy prison
in 1922 with
her mother,
Sighle and
Máire Comerford
were put into solitary confinement
"for what the Staters called our 'defiant attitudes'"
[Mac Eoin, 1980],
she went on hunger strike, for a few days,
Civil War
ended May 1923,
though prisoners not all immediately released,
she was on big hunger strike, Oct-Nov 1923, age 24, lasted 31 days
[Ward, 1983],
observed later that "it did wonders for the skin",
story that when on hunger strike
she used to read cookery book to other inmates,
released Nov or Dec 1923,
there is a name plate over her cell in Kilmainham Gaol,
after the
Civil War,
she stuck with the diehard republicans /
IRA,
she was an officer of
Cumann na mBan,
now ever more isolated in its anti-partition Republican policy,
she was Secretary, Director of Publicity, of Cumann na mBan,
she was Vice-President of Cumann na mBan in 1920s [her death notice],
they staged protests against the play
The Plough and the Stars
(1926),
which they felt belittled the men of 1916,
Sighle arrested Dec 1926,
Sighle was behind a campaign of pressurising jurors to acquit Republicans brought before
the courts,
Ailesbury Rd was raided again,
Sighle arrested 10th May 1928 on charges of influencing juries,
spent total of 9 months in jail
[Ward, 1983],
De Valera
defended her right to political status,
pointing out that the Republican cabinet used meet in her home,
despite living on Ailesbury Rd as a result of
Richard Rahilly's
capitalism,
Sighle and Anno were
extremely left-wing,
in 1931 Sighle supported the socialist/communist IRA organisation,
Saor Éire
(and here
and search),
for which she was co-treasurer
[Ernie O'Malley letters, 1991],
this was meant to be an engagement by the IRA in politics,
but using revolutionary means rather than parliamentary means,
its program was
"to overthrow British imperialism and Irish capitalism"
so that
"Industry shall be made to serve the community, not to make profit for individuals",
(todo) see
Irish Independent,
28 September 1931,
copy in
[NAI],
s 5864A,
which
reports that
Sean MacBride
presided at congress of Saor Éire, saying he
hoped for an organisation that would overthrow Imperialism and Capitalism in Ireland, and lead to the establishment of a Republican Ireland, which would be controlled by the working-class people;
amongst the resolutions was one sending
"fraternal greetings to the U.S.S.R.";
National Executive included Sighle,
the Catholic bishops in Oct 1931 accused Saor Éire of wanting
"to set up a Communist state. That is to impose upon the Catholic soil of Ireland the same materialistic regime,
with its fanatical hatred of God, as now dominates Russia",
they said it was sinful
for any Catholic
to be a member of Saor Éire or the IRA,
Saor Éire, the IRA and Cumann na mBan
were all made illegal in a crackdown by the
Free State
Oct 1931,
Ailesbury Rd was raided again,
Sighle arrested 16th Dec 1931,
sentence 29 days imprisonment, back-dated to arrest, released
[Ward, 1983],
at her trial she said:
"I am charged with being a member of Cumann na mBan and I admit it.
You are very foolish to try and suppress that organisation, for we thrive on suppression",
campaign to boycott British goods resumed 1932,
in hindsight Sighle admitted this campaign was a waste of time
[Ward, 1983],
in 1934 she initially supported the
socialist
Republican Congress,
and was on its Organising Bureau,
but quickly broke with the movement
[Ernie O'Malley letters, 1991],
still living Ailesbury Rd at mar,
Sighle said that
Nell and Anno were very protective of her when young, thought no one was good enough for her,
they finally eased off, thought better allow her get married!
mar 28th Feb 1935 [her age 36, him age 38], Donnybrook Church, Dublin
[GROI],
NOT 1937,
to Domhnall O'Donoghue,
he is
listed as "Daniel O'Connell O'Donohoe"
on mar cert
[GROI],
often written by others as "Donal" but he always used "Domhnall",
or in Irish, "Domhnall O Donnchadha",
Sighle went as
"Sighle Bean Domhnaill O Donnchadha"
or "Sighle Bean Uí Dhonnchadha",
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they were only back from honeymoon two days when he was arrested,
jailed for 6 months, Apr-Oct 1935, for seditious speech,
they moved 1935 to 18 Eglinton Park, Donnybrook
[the former home of her brother
Dick,
who had now moved to Kingswood],
they are listed at 18 Eglinton Park in
[Thoms]
from 1936 edn on,
in 1936 De Valera again made the IRA illegal,
Domhnall was Quarter-Master General to
Sean MacBride
(who was
Chief of Staff of the IRA
in 1936),
on 11th May 1937 [NOT 1938] there was an
Anti-coronation
meeting,
scuffles with police, Sighle and other Cumann na mBan girls brought wounded republicans
up to Parnell Square
[Mac Eoin, 1980],
in World War 2,
like
many other diehard republicans,
Sighle supported Nazi Germany against the British,
the IRA under
Sean Russell
(Chief-of-Staff of the IRA 1938-40)
and
Stephen Hayes
(Chief-of-Staff of the IRA 1940-41)
collaborated with Nazi Germany,
supported them openly,
assisted Nazi spies,
and even
proposed a Nazi invasion of Northern Ireland;
they even threatened to attack the American troops
coming to liberate Europe,
Cumann na mBan said Nazi Germany was
"fighting Ireland's battle and the battle of all oppressed nations within the empire"
[Hanley, 2005],
[Irish military file on Sighle]
says Sighle ran a safe house for a Nazi Germany spy during the war,
Ireland was neutral,
and De Valera introduced
internment of large numbers of Republicans,
Sighle was briefly President of Cumann na mBan 1941,
listed at 18 Eglinton Park
in [Thom's, 1945],
Domhnall followed Sean MacBride to the
new radical Republican (but constitutional) party
Clann na Poblachta
(founded 1946),
Sighle's 1st cousin
Mac O'Rahilly
was a prominent member,
he stood for
Clann na Poblachta in
Dublin South East
in Feb 1948 general election, not elected,
his running mate, the soon-to-be-famous
Noël Browne,
on his first election,
took all the Clann na Poblachta vote in that constituency,
Noël Browne said:
"Though we did not know this at the time the innocents in Clann na Poblachta
were to be used as political mounting blocks for others,
to ease the real "republicans", the ex-IRA,
into Leinster House.
My function in Dublin South-East was to elect a long-standing member of the IRA,
Donal O'Donoghue"
[Browne, 1986],
but O'Donoghue only got 559 votes, Browne got 4,917 votes
and was unexpectedly elected,
"Most certainly I was not elected as a republican;
Donal O'Donoghue got the miniscule republican vote",
Domhnall is listed as "accountant" at death,
he did the books at Solas lightbulbs,
he died 6th Aug 1957, at his home 18 Eglinton Park, Donnybrook,
of stomach cancer, age 60 yrs
[GROI],
bur Glasnevin,
Sighle was a lifelong supporter of the Irish language,
and remained a diehard republican all her life,
even into the modern era of the
Provisional IRA,
which she strongly supported in the 1970s and 1980s,
lived 18 Eglinton Park, Donnybrook, until old age,
she died early morning, Mon 14th Mar 1994,
Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross, age 95 yrs,
funeral Sat 19th Mar,
bur Glasnevin,
her papers
were given to
[UCD Archives]
1995,
had issue:
Sighle, poss. at Ailesbury Rd.
Cumann na mBan
badge in silver, 1916-21.
Image courtesy of
Cork Multitext Project, UCC
(see here).
Used with permission.
Kilmainham Gaol.
Public domain image from
Wikimedia Commons.
See full size.
Sighle's cell in Kilmainham Gaol.
Photo 2000.
See full size.
Detail from the above.
The sign says "1921" but not sure if this is correct.
Think she was not imprisoned before Independence.
Sighle, in her dressing-gown, firing a gun, as played by an actress in
The Struggle, 2003.
See other version.
From Manchán Magan.
Actress playing Sighle.
From The Struggle.
Sighle.
From The Struggle.
(Left to Right):
Sighle, Cróine, Anno, c.1945.
See full size.
Sighle.
From [Sighle's papers, UCD].
Sighle with grandson, possibly Manchán.
From The Struggle.
Sighle.
From The Struggle.
Sighle's grave, Glasnevin.
Photo 2006.
See full size
and alternative.
See close-up.
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