From Dingle to Washington, D.C. | Irish Central
November 17, 2015
Irish American sculptor Jerome Connor
“In his inspiring speech, Emmet proclaimed: ‘I wished to procure for my country the guarantee which Washington procured for America.’ His concluding words have echoed through the ages: ‘When my country takes her place among nations, then and not till then, let my epitaph be written.'”
Turlough McConnell reflects on the biography of the Irish revolutionary, Robert Emmet, by way of the remarkable and poignant story of Irish sculptor Jerome Connor who created a memorial to Emmet (1916) which still stands within view of the Irish Embassy in Washington, D.C. today.
“Our nation’s capital is home to the work of Kerry-born sculptor Jerome Connor (1874–1943). His sculptures include the memorial at Georgetown University to Bishop John Carroll (1912), America’s first bishop and cousin of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. Outside St. Matthew’s Catholic Cathedral is Nuns of the Battlefield (1924), a tribute to the women who nursed soldiers of both armies during the Civil War. Within sight of the Embassy of Ireland is Connor’s famous memorial to Irish patriot Robert Emmet (1916), commissioned by a group of Irish Americans (including the singer John McCormack) to commemorate Irish independence. Connor chose to render Emmet delivering his famous speech from the dock, an enduring symbol of the struggle for freedom.”
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At the Robert Emmet Memorial in Washington, D.C. From left, Mat Greenwood AOH, Betsy Broun, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Ralph Day, AOH, Lee Snook, National Park Service, Tom Devine, AOH, Josh Torres, National Park Service and Jack O’Brien, AOH.
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