American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic Records

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC RECORDS, 1920-1923

Series List

Scope and Content Note

The American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic Records consist primarily of form letters and circulars regarding Irish Independence from Great Britain issued to local councils; official bulletins and programs of the A.A.R.I.R., both state and national; correspondence to and from Joseph Murphy Council of the A.A.R.I.R. (in Salem, Mass.), most of it to James Collins, secretary of the council, including support from unions and letters from congressmen; circulars and letters issued by other organizations such as the American Committee for Relief in Ireland, regarding the Irish situation; material issued by the Benjamin Franklin Bureau in Chicago, which made available books about Ireland and the Irish situation, material issued by the All American Brokers, Inc., regarding insurance companies in America owned or dominated by British interests; and miscellaneous papers.

Historical Sketch

The American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in November 1920 by Éamon De Valera, with the primary goal of bringing about United States recognition as well as diplomatic relations with the Irish Republic. This organization was active across American cities including Boston, New York, Chicago (where it was headquartered), Philadelphia, Cleveland, San Francisco as well as other American cities with large Irish populations in the period between 1916 and 1921, when British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, signed the Irish Peace Treaty. The A.A.R.I.R. was founded with the goal of helping Irish-Americans support the establishment of an Irish Republic independent of British rule, both financially as well as by giving them a forum to write members of Congress regarding their goals. This organization was supported by many labor unions as well as by the Ben Franklin Institute, an organization (also based in Chicago) with the mandate to make literature available to the public about the Irish situation.

During 1919 to 1921 the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was formed, led by Michael Collins, and this organization became of the focus of Irish Republicans throughout the world; most Irish-American Republican financial support from that point on went to this organization.

Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in Philcat. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Preferred Citation

American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic Records, MSS 268, Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Provenance

The collection was given to the Essex Institute by Marie A. Galik on June 17, 1992 (acc #92012). The material was found in the home at 24 Essex Street, formerly the home of James Collins, secretary to the local council of the A.A.R.I.R.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Jane E. Ward, March 1994. Updated by Nicholas Long, May 2015.

Related Material

The American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic, Oxford Reference website, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, New York. Accessed on May 26, 2015.