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Paul Henry , Irish, 1876-1958

Title

Arthur Griffith (1871-1922), Republican, Sketch after his Death

Date1922

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensions

19 x 18.2 cm

Signedlower right: Pa.Hy

Credit LineBequeathed, Mrs M.F. Henry, the Artist's widow, 1974

Object numberNGI.7608

DescriptionOne of three drawings by Henry made in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, a few hours after Griffith's death. All three drawings were made at the suggestion of Oliver St John Gogarty.

Arthur Griffith (1871-1922), an active member of the Gaelic League and of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, edited the United Irishman from 1899 and in 1906 launched a new paper, Sinn Fein. He opposed the Home Rule Bill of 1912 and joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913. Although he was not involved in the Easter Rising of 1916, he was briefly imprisoned for his republican sympathies. Elected MP for East Caven in 1918 he became acting President of the Dail in 1919. He headed the Irish delegation in the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations of 1921. Elected President of the Dail in 1922, he died suddenly on 12 August that year.

S.B. Kennedy, Paul Henry, NGI exh. cat. 2005