Sister of Lord Lieutenant delivers speech in support of Irish independence
London, 13 December 1919 - Charlotte Despard, author, activist and sister of the Lord Lieutenant, John French, has spoken at a meeting in Battersea in London, organised ‘to demand the international recognition of Ireland’s determination to be free and independent.’
The meeting was organised by the Irish Self-Determination League of Great Britain and held at the Latchmere Baths.
Ms Despard urged all of those in attendance to join the Irish Self-Determination League and explained her own political journey towards support for Irish independence.
She was married to an Irishman, she said and some of her happiest days were spent in Ireland. She recently discovered her own Irish hertiage, but even before that took a very deep interest in Irish history and understood that what prevented the unity of Ireland was the foreign settlement that was established by Cromwell.
‘We hear’, she told the gathering, ‘that it is on account of the pledge that was given to Ulster that the government have not carried out even what was decided by the House of Commons – the small measure of self-determination which is known as Home Rule.
Ms Despard said that she ‘gloried in what was done in Ireland during the war… I could have danced with joy when I heard of the one-day strike in Dublin. It was one of the finest things that ever took place in Dublin, and I rejoiced that the Irish people would not accept conscription. The nation that can do that can do anything.’
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
