Title: ‘Glasnevin’
Speaker: Proinnsias De Rossa
Time: @ 7:45 PM
Location: Iona Pastoral Centre
Reminder via Aoife O’Tierney: The A.G.M. will start at 7.30 p.m. sharp. Please remember subs in a named envelope, couples €30, solos €15. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Proinnsias De Rossa, a Dublin former politician with a long career in Irish and European public life. Born in Dublin on 15 May 1940, and lived at 14 The Rise, Glasnevin, he was educated at Marlborough Street National School and Kevin Street College of Technology, now part of Technological University Dublin.
He became politically active at a young age, joining the republican youth movement Fianna Éireann in his early teens and later becoming involved with Sinn Féin and the IRA. During the 1950s Border Campaign, he was interned in the Curragh from 1956 to 1959.
TD for Dublin North-West: He represented Dublin North-West from 1982 to 2002, with a break while he was an MEP. That constituency includes parts of Glasnevin, specifically Ballygall, as well as Finglas, Ballymun, and part of Whitehall.
Local government connection: In the 1979 Dublin Corporation election, he stood in a multi-seat electoral area that included the Glasnevin A and Glasnevin B wards, alongside Cabra, Drumcondra South, Finglas, and Inns Quay.
In later years, he was leader of the Workers’ Party from 1988 to 1992 and subsequently founded and led Democratic Left from 1992 to 1999. He served as a TD for Dublin North-West from 1989 to 2002 and was Minister for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997 in the Rainbow Government. He was also a Member of the European Parliament for Dublin, serving from 1989 to 1992 and again from 1999 to 2012.
Researched links
- https://www.oxfordreference.com/viewbydoi/10.1093/acref/9780199916191.013.1600
- https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/495808
- https://seamusdubhghaill.com/2019/05/15/birth-of-proinsias-de-rossa/
- https://www.isad.ie/item.php?t=m&id=75
- https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Prionsias-De-Rossa.D.1982-03-09
- https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/1289/PROINSIAS_DE+ROSSA/history/3
- https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Proinsias_De_Rossa
- https://comeheretome.com/2017/03/02/garda-raid-on-ira-training-camp-1957/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_North-West
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Dublin_Corporation_election
There are no firm details of exactly what the talk will be about. It could be more socio-political for example, as alluded to above. So, just to whet your appetite, here is some information focused on just one aspect of Glasnevin – its cemetery!
Content was researched with Ai.
Glasnevin is a historic district on Dublin’s northside, closely associated with many chapters of Irish political, cultural, and social history. It is best known for Glasnevin Cemetery, founded by Daniel O’Connell in 1832 to provide a dignified burial place for Catholics and people of all faiths at a time when Catholic burial rights were restricted.
The cemetery became the resting place of many of the most prominent figures in modern Irish history. Among those buried there are Daniel O’Connell, the political leader known as “The Liberator”; Michael Collins, the revolutionary leader and signatory of the Anglo-Irish Treaty; Constance Markievicz, the first woman elected to the British House of Commons and a minister in the first Dáil; and Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, the Fenian whose funeral in 1915 was the occasion for Patrick Pearse’s famous graveside oration.
Also buried in Glasnevin is Anne Devlin, the loyal friend and housekeeper of Robert Emmet, who endured imprisonment and hardship rather than betray him. Her grave and story form part of the cemetery’s wider association with Ireland’s struggle for independence.
With its many connections to political leadership, rebellion, commemoration, and national memory, Glasnevin offers rich material for anyone interested in Ireland’s past. The area is also home to the National Botanic Gardens, one of Dublin’s best-known heritage attractions.
Image Gallery focused on historical aspects of Glasnevin Cemetery. Click to open Gallery
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