Ricard O'Sullivan Burke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ricard O'Sullivan Burke
Born	24 January 1838
Died	11 May 1922 (aged 84) Chicago, Illinois
Resting place	Mount Olivet Cemetery, Chicago
Nationality	Irish
Citizenship	American
Occupation	public works engineer

Ricard O'Sullivan Burke (born 24 January 1838 – died 11 May 1922) was an Irish nationalist and a Fenian activist. Fenians were a group of Irish people who wanted Ireland to be independent from British rule. He also served as a soldier in the Union army during the American Civil War. Later, he worked as an engineer for public projects.

Ricard Burke traveled a lot and had many different jobs. He was involved in two attempts to help people escape from prison. One was in Manchester, and another was in London.

Ricard Burke's Early Life

Ricard Burke was born on 24 January 1838 in a place called Cloonareague, in Co. Cork, Ireland. He was the youngest of twelve children. His family had to leave their farm. This might have happened because his father supported a politician named Feargus O'Connor.

Moving to Dunmanway

The Burke family then moved to Dunmanway. Ricard went to school there. When he was 15, he joined the Cork Militia, which was a local army group. He stayed there for three years. Some stories say he was a sergeant or a corporal.

Life in London and America

Ricard later moved to London to be with his family. He couldn't find work there. He then left England for the United States. He did many different jobs in New York. One story says he even painted a portrait.

He also worked on a trading ship. This led to many exciting stories about his travels. People said he became very good at sailing and learned to speak Spanish. He supposedly spent a year in Paris studying languages and art. He also looked for gold in California. He even traveled to South America. In 1861, he returned to New York.

Ricard Burke's Career and Military Service

Ricard Burke joined the 15th Regiment of the New York State Volunteers on 17 June 1861. This group was known as "sappers" because they were trained in army engineering. They built things like trenches, barriers, and bridges. They helped in important battles like Yorktown and Gettysburg.

Military Ranks and Service

Ricard Burke was never hurt during his time in the army. He was released from service on 13 June 1865. He had reached the rank of captain. Some records even show him as a brevet colonel, which is an honorary rank.

Joining the Fenians

After leaving the army, Burke offered his help to John O'Mahony. He was the leader of the Fenian Brotherhood in New York. Burke worked as a bookkeeper for a while. Then, he was sent to Ireland.

In Ireland, another Fenian leader, Thomas Kelly, sent Burke to England. His job was to buy weapons for the Fenians. However, there wasn't enough money because the Fenians in the U.S. were divided.

The Fenian Rising of 1867

Burke went back to New York in 1866. He returned to Ireland in early 1867 for a Fenian uprising. This uprising was not successful. A ship called the Jacmel (later renamed Erin's Hope) sailed from New York with many guns and Fenians. It anchored off the coast of Co. Sligo, but signals to shore were not answered. Burke told the captain that the uprising had failed. The ship returned to the U.S. with its weapons.

Arrests and Escape Attempts

On 27 December 1867, Ricard Burke was arrested in St Pancras, London. He had been involved in organizing the escape of two Fenian leaders, Thomas Kelly and Timothy Deasy, from a prison carriage in Manchester. During this escape attempt, a police sergeant was killed.

Plans for Chester Castle

Burke had bought many guns and supplies in Birmingham in 1865. Witnesses said he attended Fenian meetings where they planned to raid the armoury at Chester Castle. This was on 11 February 1867. About 2,000 rifles bought by Burke had been stored in Liverpool.

The Clerkenwell Prison Incident

While Burke was held at Clerkenwell Prison in London, Fenians tried to help him escape. On 13 December 1867, they used gunpowder to blow up a wall of the exercise yard. This was their second attempt. The plan was carried out by Jeremiah O'Sullivan. He was part of a Fenian group in London that Burke had helped set up.

The first attempt to blow up the wall failed. A prison guard even picked up the signal ball for his children. Police patrols were increased because they had received information about a possible rescue. The prison governor also kept prisoners in their cells.

A second attempt the next day worked. However, the exercise yard was empty. The large explosion destroyed a big part of the wall. Sadly, twelve local people were killed, and many others were hurt. Homes and shops nearby were also damaged. This event made many working-class people in England less sympathetic to the Fenian cause.

Trial and Imprisonment

Ricard Burke was charged with a serious crime related to the escape of Kelly and his involvement in buying weapons. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Prison conditions were very difficult. While in prison, some people in the House of Commons talked about Burke. They said he was on a diet that was making him sick. Burke himself believed he was being poisoned.

He was moved to different prisons because of his health. Eventually, he was released in 1871 due to illness. A weakened Burke went to his brother's home in Co. Cork to get better.

Later Life and Public Service

In 1874, Ricard Burke returned to the U.S. Public records in Chicago show that he was a 'public official' during the 1880s and 1890s. From the mid-1870s, he worked as a clerk at the War Department in Washington D.C.

Political Activities

He often gave talks about Irish nationalism. He also campaigned for the Republican Party in the U.S. He settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he met Nora Sheehy. She later became his wife.

In 1881, he left his job in Washington to work on railways in Mexico. His wife joined him there in November, and they settled in Monterrey.

Continued Fenian Support

Burke continued to support the Fenian cause, even though there were disagreements within the group. In 1888, his friend, Dr. Patrick Cronin, disappeared. Burke suspected foul play from a group within the Clan na Gael, which was a group that followed the Fenian Brotherhood. Cronin was found murdered in May 1889. This event caused a lot of public anger and damaged the Clan na Gael.

As late as 1911, Burke was still involved in buying many weapons for Fenians in the U.S. In 1912, at 74 years old, he was working as an 'assistant engineer' for the Department of Public Works in Chicago.

Final Years

In September 1913, Ricard Burke suffered a stroke. Around the same time, his son, Ricard Jr., was very ill and later passed away. Another stroke left Burke paralyzed, and he was in bed for five and a half years. On 12 July 1919, Éamon de Valera, who would later become the Irish president, visited Burke in Chicago.

Death

Ricard O'Sullivan Burke died on 11 May 1922. He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago.

Accounts of Ricard Burke's Life

Stories about Ricard Burke's life are sometimes different and include details that might not be true. People even said he added many of these exciting details himself. His friend, John Devoy, said Burke's life story "reads more like a romance than a record of actual facts."

For example, many stories say he reached the rank of brevet colonel in the Union army, and he used that title. However, he was officially released as a captain. It has also been said that he helped build a submarine. Fenians provided money for it, but they later took the submarine and couldn't operate it.

Images for kids

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  A memorial dedicated to O'Sullivan Burke and his brother Morgan, located at St Bartholomew's Church, Castletown-Kinneigh, County Cork, Ireland.