Walking on the Dead: Glasnevin

In our various excursions throughout the Emerald Isle, I have been made aware repeatedly throughout our stops on the history of early 20th-century Irish revolutionaries who fought and often died for the noble cause of Irish republicanism. While I -- an American -- acknowledge the disconnect between myself and a devoted, staunch Irish citizen in paying respect to many of the fallen revolutionaries of yesteryear colonial Ireland, I can't possibly refrain from acknowledging how vital these brave men and women were to fostering and cultivating the Irish republic. As to pour one out for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice or who lived to see strides towards the horizon, I paid a visit to the Glasnevin Cemetery -- the final resting place for many of the most consequential revolutionaries in Irish history.

The final resting place of many of the most storied revolutionaries is in suburban Dublin at the Glasnevin Cemetery, known for its unapologetic Catholic imagery prevalent throughout.

Some of the names we have heard come about frequently whenever we discuss the Irish revolutionary period are interred for eternity in Glasnevin, including, but certainly not limited to: Countess Markievicz, Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, James Larkin, and the storied Daniel O'Connell. While I am ashamed to say I did not encounter each and every one of the more than 1.5 million people interred at Glasnevin, I did find many of the people aforementioned, which was the rationale for the trip.

A complicated man in Irish history, Eamon de Valera, nonetheless, is one of the focal reasons why Irish republicans were ultimately successful in the cause of introducing republicanism to colonial Ireland. de Valera was imprisoned and was sentenced to death for his crimes of being a republican revolutionary, but his dual American citizenship might have left him on the hook and was released before embarking on a political career. A typical poster frequently seen in Ireland about de Valera's bravery (or incompetency given your viewpoint, as de Valera was known to have suffered a nervous breakdown during the period of the Easter Rising) calls for action on de Valera's release, pleading the Irish citizens to throw their support for his cause, stating: "We got him out to put him in"; this phrase was additionally used for fellow Irish republicans who had been imprisoned as political prisoners. de Valera represented the East Clare constituency for 42 years (1917-1959). His political career came him many honors and distinctions, such as serving in both executive power offices as President (1959-1973) and Taoiseach (collectively over 21 years), a Member of Irish Parliament and the Dail Eireann, and one of the founders for the Fianna Fail party. His presidency was not as redeeming, as Ireland struggled economically throughout his 14-year reign, but his legacy as ever will live on for eternity in the Glasnevin Cemetery.

Eamon de Valera's family plot pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Glasnevin Cemetery. A complex man, de Valera nonetheless can be seen by some to be the "father of Ireland".

As for the leading contender of "mother of Ireland", Countess Markievicz lived a life that must be told and studied over for anyone interested in Ireland either as a cultural concept or as a historical artifact. Born in wealth and who would later marry into a Polish royal family, nonetheless, as a woman, Markievicz had to climb a few hurdles to gain acceptance as a woman in politics -- especially in a time period when women were still not publicly acknowledged to be power players in the political arena. As a republican advocate, like de Valera, Markievicz was imprisoned originally on a death sentence, but saw her sentence commuted to life imprisonment (likely because she was a woman). During her imprisonment, she was elected to the Irish Parliament in the nationalist wave of 1918, but could not serve her seat due to being behind bars. Instead, Markievicz and other republican leaders formed the Dail Eireann, where she was a member of the Sinn Fein party. Markievicz was opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, became one of the first women worldwide to hold a ministerial position (as Minister of Labor) and later joined forces with de Valera to create the Fianna Fail party. Not bad for one of the most influential women in history to call Ireland her righteous and rightful home.

For its relative difficulty in locating the gravestone of Countess Markievicz, the grave's location of being in Glasnevin's republican plot signaled how fervent Markievicz was in her cause to be buried near her fellow republicans.

The towering presence of Daniel O'Connell over Ireland and the Glasnevin Cemetery (the latter of which is to be taken literally) is incalculable if not contentious. Serving in the British Parliament as a representative for his Dublin constituencies, O'Connell was believed to have mobilized his fellow Irish Catholic population in support of lifting some of the blunt restrictions on the Catholic population over the island -- his defining legacy as an Irish statesman to this day. Some of his parliamentary antics, namely supporting the patronage system that had plagued both Irish and British politics at that timeframe, were critiqued strongly by his Irish constituents. However, his reputation still lies in his efforts as a standard-bearer for Catholic equality throughout the Irish island, and -- if you judge by size of one's gravestone -- is the most revered and admired Irishman interred at Glasnevin to this day.

The memorial and tomb of Daniel O'Connell is enough in its grandeur and size to make some United States Presidents gush, but for the most serves as a reminder to justify how lionized O'Connell is in Ireland even in 2023.

While not the most engrossed and intrigued by the Irish revolutionary period as an American college student, I still found the Glasnevin Cemetery to be worth the time and effort to break a sweat for a visit. It's history has directly adulated for eternity the revolutionaries who would go on to define anti-British sentiment and Irish unity in the name of republicanism that is found at home in our memoirs read and lectures listened to in both of our classes. The period has certainly pushed Irish politics leftward from a communal basis, creating left-leaning party Sinn Fein out of the ruckus and turmoil of the era of the Irish revolutionary and a strong sense of Irish nationalism still prevalent today. In Angela's Ashes, the revolutionary period is looked on with bliss and remembrance, especially from Frank McCourt's father Malachy. In That's That, the feeling and sentiment of Irish republicanism and nationalism is established to a T, with author Colin Broderick repeatedly espousing his hatred for the tyrannical action of the British government during the Troubles and his desire to conspire and possibly join the IRA. While the Glasnevin Cemetery is not for everyone, the atmosphere you feel and the ground you walk on is filled with the lust of remembrance, gratitude, and unity that is emblematic of my general experience in Ireland thus far.