The Emmet statue in Washington, D.C.
By Ray O’Hanlon
rohanlon@irishecho.com
While much attention has been, naturally, lavished in recent days on the leaders of the 1916 Rising, another in the pantheon of Irish patriots has not been forgotten in this Rising centenary year.
That would be Robert Emmet, he of the immortal speech from the dock.
But though Emmet gave his life for Ireland 113 years before the Rising, he is linked to 1916 by virtue of an event on this side of the Atlantic.
As well as being the centennial of the Rising, 2016 also marks the foundation of the U.S. National Park Service and of the completion of the first commemorative sculpture of Robert Emmet in America.
The Emmet statue was commissioned by the Smithsonian, funded by a group of Irish Americans, completed in 1916 by Irish sculptor Jerome Connor, and installed in the Smithsonian’s U.S. National Museum.
President Woodrow Wilson spoke at the dedication ceremony, which was attended by many dignitaries.
On the 50th anniversary of these events, in April 1966, the Smithsonian loaned the Emmet statue to a small National Park Service site near the Embassy of Ireland.
It was duly rededicated.
The then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, John McCormack, presided over the ceremony, and remarks were made by, among others, the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Ambassador of Ireland.
President Lyndon Johnson conveyed his admiration for Emmet in a message that was read at the event.
This according to a recent release from the aforementioned Irish Embassy: “To mark the concurrent one hundred year anniversaries of the National Park Service, Ireland’s Easter Rising, and the Emmet statue, the National Park Service is currently undertaking a major refurbishment of the park site on which the statue stands.
“The project encompasses re-landscaping the entire site and installing a wayside information marker. The National Park Service is working in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the Irish American Unity Conference and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, all of which have contributed resources to the project.”
That major refurbishment has now been completed and yesterday, to celebrate the completion of the renovation, and to commemorate the concurrent centenaries of the Easter Rising, the National Park Service and the Emmet statue, Irish Ambassador to the United States, Anne Anderson, presided over a rededication ceremony at the park site, which is at Massachusetts Avenue and 24th Street.
The refurbishment has coincided with a congressional move to rename what is officially described as “a small triangular property” or in National Park Service parlance, “Reservation 302,” this by means of a bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 4564, which was introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources back in February.
The bill was crafted by a bipartisan group of Irish American congressmen, New Yorkers Joe Crowley and Peter King, Richard Neal and Joe Kennedy III from Massachusetts, Chris Smith from New Jersey, Brendan Boyle from Pennsylvania, and Thomas Rooney of Florida.
It is expected to be discussed at a committee hearing sometime in the next few weeks.
According to the Irish Embassy, Congressman Crowley has a strong personal interest in Robert Emmet.
A portrait of Emmet given to him by his father hangs in a prominent place in his office on Capitol Hill.
Said Ambassador Anne Anderson at yesterday’s ceremony: “I want to thank all those who have worked so tirelessly to make today’s event a reality. It is a wonderful coming together of three centenaries – of the Easter Rising, of the casting of this statue, of the foundation of the National Park Service.
“The connection between the Robert Emmet statue and the commemoration of 1916 is not merely symbolic or circumstantial.
“The men and women of 1916 were heirs to a long tradition of which Emmet’s story formed an important part.
“Patrick Pearse, in particular, venerated Robert Emmet and gave expression to his admiration in stirring speeches he made in New York and Brooklyn during his U.S. visit in 1914.
“The parallels between the two men are striking: both understood heroic failure; both faced execution with stoicism and dignity; in both cases, their voices resonated more powerfully from the grave than they did in life.
“This statue we rededicate today is uniquely important. Although over a hundred years had passed since his death, this was the first statue of Robert Emmet created anywhere.
“And the history of the statue speaks powerfully to the Irish–American connection: commissioned by the Smithsonian, cast by Irish sculptor Jerome Connor, funded by a group of Irish Americans, and unveiled in the U.S. National Museum in the presence of President Woodrow Wilson.”
