Jan. 26, 1887 Telegram from Alexander Sullivan, INLA and Clan na Gael Leader, of Chicago, IL
February 21, 2018Chicago attorney Alexander Sullivan sent this telegram to John F. Armstrong on 26 January 1887. Sullivan was one of the most influential and controversial Irish-Americans in the 1880s, when he served as president of both the Clan na Gael (CNG) and the Irish National League of America. Within the CNG, he was also the leader of the Triangle, a small but powerful faction that financed a series of dynamite bombings in Britain in the early 1880s.
Strongly opposed by John Devoy and Dr. P. H. Cronin, in 1888 Sullivan was the focus of an internal CNG investigation and trial based on charges of large-scale financial corruption. Although he was acquitted, the bitter split in the Clan na Gael remained. In 1889, the CNG was torn further apart by the murder of Dr. Cronin and the trial of his accused murderers, alleged associates of Sullivan.
JF worked closely with Sullivan in the Irish National League of America when he served on the INLA’s Council of Seven and the Executive Committee. He also probably worked with Sullivan in the CNG, although Armstrong’s role in the secretive anti-British organization remains a mystery.
For more information on Sullivan, see the References and attached notes below.
Marie Van Sant Hudson contributed research for this post.
References
“Alexander Sullivan Funeral Is Today,” The Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL), 23 August 1913, online archives, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17717300/alex_sullivan/ : accessed 7 March 2018), citing original p. 3.
Gillian O’Brien, Blood Runs Green: The Murder That Transfixed Gilded Age Chicago (Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 2015).—-Notes: Book about the 1889 murder of Dr. P. H. Cronin and the trial of his alleged murderers. A member of the Clan na Gael (CNG), Cronin was, like John Devoy, an outspoken critic of Alexander Sullivan. The murder trial made public wide-spread corruption and in-fighting in the Clan na Gael. It also informed the public of the organization’s bombing campaign in Britain. Sullivan was the leader of the CNG and the Irish National League of America at the time of the bombings. The decision to finance the bombings was made by a small faction of the CNG leadership known as the Triangle: Alexander Sullivan, Michael Boland, and Denis Feely.
Parnell Commission, A Verbatim Copy of the Parnell Commission Report With Complete Index and Notes (London: Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union, 1890), 136 [152]- 139 [155]; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/stream/verbatimcopyofpa : accessed 6 March 2018).—-Notes: The Parnell Commission was created 1888 by a special act of the London Parliament to investigate allegations of misconduct against certain Members of Parliament, primarily Charles Stewart Parnell. One of the Parnell Commission’s aims was to prove a link between C. S. Parnell and American Fenians in the Clan na Gael (CNG) who had financed a dynamite campaign in the UK in the early 1880s.
Shane Kenna, War In The Shadows: The Irish-American Fenians Who Bombed Victorian Britain (Co. Kildare, Ireland: Merrion Press).—-This book has a lot of information (see its index) on Sullivan’s involvement and influence in the CNG. He was one of three people in the CNG leadership known as “the Triangle” who supported and financed some of the dynamite bombings in Britain in the early 1880s.
Terry Golway, Irish Rebel: John Devoy and America’s Fight for Ireland’s Freedom (New York: St. Martins Press, 1998), 144-145.—-Notes: In 1883, Clan na Gael leader Alexander Sullivan was elected head of the newly formed Irish National League of America. As leader of the CNG, Sullivan had already provided money and support for the planting of dynamite bombs throughout Britain.
Thomas Power O’Connor, M. P., and McWade, Robert, Esq., Gladstone-Parnell And the Great Irish Struggle: A Graphic Story of Injustice And Oppression Inflicted Upon Irish Tenantry, And A History Of The Gigantic Movement Throughout Ireland, America, and Great Britain For “Home Rule”, Also A Complete History Of The Great Times Conspiracy, With Biographies Of The Great Leaders Gladstone, Parnell, Davitt, Egan And Very Many Others (Philadelphia, Pa.: Hubbard Bros., 1890), 659-654; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/gladstoneparnell1890ocon : accessed 6 March 2018).—–Notes: This was published in 1890, the same year as the Parnell report. Many events from the 1880s are left out such as: the Triangle faction of the Clan na Gael (CNG) financing of dynamite bombings in Britain, the internal CNG investigation and trial of Alexander Sullivan on charges of corruption, and the murder of Dr. P. H. Cronin in Chicago by Sullivan supporters.