SEARC'S WEB GUIDE - James Stephens (1825-1901)

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19th Century Ireland - James Stephens (1825-1901)

James Stephens was born and educated in Kilkenny. He began working as a civil engineer with the Limerick and Waterford Railway in 1843. Stephens joined the Young Irelanders in 1847 and quickly rose to prominence in the movement. He was wounded during the 1848 Rising at Ballingarry, County Tipperary but managed to escape to France where he was a circle of Irish exiles who founded the Irish Republican Brotherhood, including Thomas Clarke Luby and John O'Mahony.
Stephens returned to Ireland as Head Centre of the IRB in 1856 in which capacity he organised Fenian cells throughout Ireland and was responsible for affiliating the Phoenix Association within the Fenian movement. In 1858 Stephens travelled to America to raise funds for the IRB and when he returned to Ireland in 1859 his identity became known to the authorities and he was forced to return to America. Stephens returned to Ireland in 1861 and published The Future of Ireland and its capacity to exist as an independent state(1862). He also founded a weekly newspaper The Irish People which contained extensive coverage of national and international news and was subsequently edited by Charles Kickham, Thomas Clarke Luby and John O'Leary.
In November, 1865 Stephens was arrested with Kickham for conspiracy and imprisoned in Richmond Gaol, Dublin. Stephens escaped to France and later travelled to America where he was denounced at a Fenian Convention for not having called the Rising in 1864. He was replaced as Head Centre by Colonel Kelly. Stephens returned to France where he worked as a journalist in Paris. In 1886 he was unjustifably expelled from France for plotting a revolution and was exiled to Switzerland. Stephens died in Dublin in 1901. This extract is from of Stephens' pamphlet The Future of Ireland(1862).©

James Stephens (1825-1901)

1. The State of Ireland shall be divided in to nine Provinces. The Metropolis shall be the City of Limerick, as the seat of the Executive Government. (The choice of a Metropolis may be made to fall on another City than Limerick; it is however clear that Dublin can only be the English Capital of Ireland, while Cork and Belfast are both too far from the centre, and the latter town in no respect a representative of Ireland.)
2. The Metropolitan Province shall consist of the City of Limerick, the present County of Limerick, and so much of the present County of Kerry as lies North of the River Maine.
3. The South-West Province shall consist of the present County of Cork, so much of the present County of Kerry as lies South of the River Maine; and as much of the present County of Waterford as lies West of a line drawn through the towns of Cappaquinn [sic] and Dungarvan. Its Capital shall be the City of Cork.
4. The South-East Province shall consist of that part of the present County of Waterford which lies East of the said line drawn through Cappaquinn and Dungarvan; the present County of Tipperary; that part of the present County of Kilkenny lying West of the River Nore; that part of the present Queen's County [Laois] lying West of the Nore, and of the Sliabh Bloom mountains; and that part of the present King's County [Offaly] lying South-West of a line drawn from the town of Banagher to the Sliabh Bloom mountains. Its Capital shall be the City of Waterford.
5. The East Province shall consist of the present Counties of Wexford; Wicklow; and Carlow; that part of the present County of Kildare lying South of the Great Southern and Western Railway; that part of the present County of Kildare lying East of the Nore; that part of the present Queen's County lying East of the Nore; and that part of the present King's County lying North-East of the said line drawn from Banagher to the Sliabh Bloom. Its capital shall be the City of Wexford.
6. The Midland Province shall consist of the present Counties of Dublin; Louth; Meath; West Meath and Longford; that part of the present County of Kildare lying North of the said Great Southern and Western Railway; and that part of the present County of Cavan lying East of the River Erne. Its Capital shall be the City of Dublin.
7. The North-East Province shall consist of the present Counties of Armagh; Down; Antrim; and Monaghan. Its Capital shall be the City of Belfast.
8. The North Province shall consist of the present counties of Donegal; Derry; Tyrone; and that part of the present County of Fermanagh lying North of the River Erne. Its capital shall be the City of Derry.
9. The North-West province shall consist of the present Counties of Mayo; Sligo; and Leitrim; that part of the present County of Fermanagh lying South-West of the Erne; that part of the present County of Cavan lying West of the Erne; and that part of the present County of Roscommon lying North of a line drawn through the towns of Castlerea and Strokestown. Its Capital shall be the City of Sligo.
10. The West Province shall consist of the present Counties of Galway; and Clare; and that part of the present County of Roscommon lying South of the said line through Castlerea and Strokestown. Its Capital shall be the City of Galway.
11. The Central City of Athlone (which shall be fortified as the Citadel of the State) shall have appropriated to it a certain territory on both sides of the River Shannon, to be called the District of Athlone; which shall for the purpose of Civil and Criminal Judicature be considered a Province in itself.
12. The several Provinces shall be divided into Departments, and these again into Cantons, and then into Communes, for the purpose of local taxation and internal self-government, by a Special Law, to be subsequently modified so as best to suit local interest by the Provincial Councils with the consent of the Senate.
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19th Century Ireland
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