Irish politician (1881?1965)
Piaras Beaslai
(
[?p?i???.?s?
?b?eːs?.l??iː]
; 15 February 1881 ? 22 June 1965) was an Irish author, playwright, biographer and translator, who was a member of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood
, fought in the
Easter Rising
and served as a member of
Dail Eireann
.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Piaras Beaslai was born
Percy Frederick Beazley
in
Liverpool
, England on 15 February 1881 to Irish Catholic parents, Patrick Langford Beazley and Nannie Hickey. Patrick Langford Beazley, from Killarney,
County Kerry
, moved to
Egremont, Cumbria
and was the editor of
The Catholic Times
newspaper for 40 years; Nannie Hickey was from
Newcastle West
,
County Limerick
. Beaslai's parents married in March 1878, in the West Derby district of the county of
Lancashire
.
[2]
During his summer holidays in his younger years, he spent time in
Ireland
(near
Kenmare
,
County Kerry
) with his paternal uncle, Father James Beazley, where he began to learn
Irish
.
[3]
Beaslai was educated at
St Xavier's Jesuit College in Liverpool
, where he developed his keen interest in
Irish
; by the time he was aged 17 his Irish proficiency was exceptional.
[4]
Literary career
[
edit
]
After finishing his education at St Xavier's, Beaslai was encouraged to begin Irish poetry by
Tadhg O Donnchadha
. Beaslai followed his father's footsteps into journalism; he began by working for the local
Wallasey News
, and in 1906 he moved to
Dublin
, and within a year became a freelance writer for the
Irish Peasant
,
Irish Independent
,
Freeman's Journal
and
Express
. He was offered a permanent position with Independent Newspapers, as assistant leader writer and special reporter for the
Dublin Evening Telegraph
. He wrote regularly for the
Freeman's Journal
, including a daily half-column in Irish.
[4]
After his early introduction to Irish poetry he became involved in staging Irish-language amateur drama at the
Oireachtas
annual music festival. Beaslai began to write both original works and adaptations from foreign languages. One of these works,
Eachtra Pheadair Schlemiel
(1909), was translated from
German
into Irish.
[3]
Later he continued to write poetry, such as the collection
"Bealtaine 1916" agus Danta Eile
(1920), and short stories such as "Earc agus Aine agus Scealta Eile". Between 1913 and 1939 he wrote many plays, including
Cliuche Cartai
(1920),
An Sgaothaire agus Cuig Dramai Eile
(1929),
An Danar
(1929) and
An Bhean Chrodha
(1931). He wrote two books about his comrade
Michael Collins
:
Michael Collins and the Making of a New Ireland
(2 volumes, 1926) and
Michael Collins: Soldier and Statesman
(1937).
His works revolved around the Irish language movement and the
IRA
; these works focused on the independence struggle of Ireland. He wrote about these topics in newspapers such as the
Standard
and
The Kerryman
; his most notable work in newspapers during his later life included his contribution to the
Irish Independent
, which published a section called ‘A Veteran Remembers’ five days a week from 16 May to June 1957, as well as a weekly section called ‘Moods and Memories’ on Wednesdays from 24 May 1961 to 16 June 1965.
[3]
One of the awards Beaslai gained during his career was, on 14 August 1928, a gold medal at the Tailteann Literary Awards. While in Dublin, he joined the Keating Branch of the
Gaelic League
, and after he moved to Ireland he began using the Irish form of his name, Piaras Beaslai, rather than Percy Beazley.
[3]
Role in the 1916 Rising
[
edit
]
A founding member of The Irish Volunteers in 1913, in January 1916 he served as a courier for political activist and revolutionary leader
Sean Mac Diarmada
. By the time of the
Easter Rising
that year, Beaslai was deputy commanding officer of the 1st Dublin Battalion. In an audio recording to which he contributed in 1958, he detailed his experience in the Rising, describing the rebels assembling before noon in Blackhall Street at battalion headquarters. After midday they marched out to the
Four Courts
, erecting barricades as they did so. The Four Courts was his main station.
In the audio, he recalls a green flag with a gold harp in the centre; this was the non-
Sinn Fein
flag at the time. On the Friday evening the
General Post Office, Dublin
. Beaslai was in direct charge of the Four Courts area, and at one point during the fight he ordered a complete
blackout
. He recalled "things were going badly for the English soldiers" and described the whole event as "a weird experience". He remembers the streets being lit up with fires in the darkness as if it were bright as day. He speaks of the intensity of the firing line and then how it suddenly ceased on the Friday. He remembered falling asleep and when he woke being presented with
PH Pearse
's order to surrender. The rebels were brought to Richmond barracks. Beaslai then spent fifteen months in English prisons.
[5]
Beaslai served three years for penal servitude divided between a stringent Portland prison and a more lenient Lewes prison. He was then imprisoned two times within four months during 1919, both terms ending in celebrated escapes.
[4]
After his final prison release, Michael Collins approached Beaslai to edit
An tOglach
, the Irish Volunteer newspaper; this saw communication between GHQ and local volunteers drastically improved.
[
citation needed
]
Political career
[
edit
]
Later, Beaslai became director of publicity for the
Irish Republican Army
, and at the
1918 general election
he was elected to the
First Dail Eireann
as
Sinn Fein
MP
for
Kerry East
.
[6]
Sinn Fein MPs who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
, and instead assembled the following January at the
Mansion House
in
Dublin
as a revolutionary parliament,
Dail Eireann
.
[7]
Beaslai was noted for his translation of the democratic programme of the First Dail, which he read aloud at the inaugural sitting.
[8]
He was a member of the Sinn Fein party for five years. Between 1919 and 1921 he represented the Kerry East constituency in the First Dail. Then, at the
1921 general election
, he was returned unopposed to the
Second Dail
as a Sinn Fein
Teachta Dala
(TD) for
Kerry?Limerick West
. Following the signing of the
Anglo-Irish Treaty
, Beaslai was re-elected there unopposed at the
1922 election
as a pro-Treaty Sinn Fein candidate, and was thus a member of the
Third Dail
, which was Pro-Treaty at this stage. In 1922 he went to the US to explain the Treaty to Sinn Fein's Irish-American supporters. He did not contest the 1923 election.
[9]
He and
Con Collins
share the distinction of having been elected in three Irish general elections unopposed by any other candidates.
[10]
[11]
Gaelic League
[
edit
]
During Beaslai's time in London, he gave a lot of his time to the
Gaelic League
. In the Keating branch of the league, in Ireland, Beaslai developed an interest in the
IRB
.
Cathal Brugha
, a branch member, asked him to join the IRB. The Keating branch was where Beaslai met Michael Collins, eventually introducing Collins to his cousin and fellow branch member,
Elizabeth Mernin
.
[12]
Beaslai was also instrumental in establishing
An Fainne
, an Irish-speaking league whose members vowed to speak solely Irish among themselves and wore a membership badge of a circle. This coincided with his involvement in the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Beaslai's love of the Irish language gave him an opportunity to delve into his other hobbies. He wrote for
Banba
, an Irish journal published by the Gaelic League. He was able to express his love for theatre, in the Gaelic League, forming a group of men called "Na hAisteoiri".
[13]
Death
[
edit
]
Beaslai died, unmarried, aged 84 on 22 June 1965, in a nursing home in Dublin. He was buried in a plot in
Glasnevin Cemetery
, after a Requiem Mass in St Columba's Church, Iona Road, Glasnevin.
[14]
The gravestone of
Thomas Ashe
,
Peadar Kearney
and Piaras Beaslai at
Glasnevin Cemetery
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Coogan, Tim Pat
(1991).
Michael Collins
. Arrow Books. pp.
98?99
.
ISBN
0-09-968580-9
.
- ^
"FreeBMD District Info"
.
Freebmd.org.uk
. 2016.
Archived
from the original on 4 October 2021
. Retrieved
14 November
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Maume, Patrick (October 2009).
"Beaslai, Piaras"
.
Dictionary of Irish Biography
. Retrieved
13 December
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Piaras Beaslai Papers"
(PDF)
.
National Library of Ireland
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 29 March 2017
. Retrieved
16 November
2016
.
- ^
"The Fiercest Fighting 1916"
.
RTE Archives
. 1956.
Archived
from the original on 28 August 2016
. Retrieved
16 November
2016
.
- ^
"Piaras Beaslai"
.
Oireachtas Members Database
.
Archived
from the original on 8 August 2019
. Retrieved
6 June
2009
.
- ^
"Roll call of the first sitting of the First Dail"
.
Dail Eireann Historical Debates
(in Irish). 21 January 1919. Archived from
the original
on 19 November 2007
. Retrieved
6 June
2009
.
- ^
Michael Collins and the Making of a New Ireland
by Piaras Beaslai (Dublin, 1926), vol. 1, p. 259.
- ^
"Directory of Members - 1919-2016 - Houses of the Oireachtas - Tithe an Oireachtais"
.
Oireachtas.ie
.
Archived
from the original on 24 November 2016
. Retrieved
16 November
2016
.
- ^
"Piaras Beaslai"
.
ElectionsIreland.org
.
Archived
from the original on 29 September 2007
. Retrieved
6 June
2009
.
- ^
"Con Collins"
.
ElectionsIreland.org
.
Archived
from the original on 29 September 2007
. Retrieved
6 June
2009
.
- ^
Coleman, Marie (2009). "Mernin, Elizabeth". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.).
Dictionary of Irish Biography
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^
"BEASLAI, Piaras (1881?1965)"
.
Ainm.ie
.
Archived
from the original on 24 November 2016
. Retrieved
18 November
2016
.
- ^
"Funeral Maj.-Gen. Piaras Beaslai".
ProQuest
524466595
.
External links
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