Reading between the Lines: Hyde’s Writings, 1916

A set of overlooked primary sources related to the 1916 Easter Rising provides the focus for this essay, which will rely on these documents to expand the current understanding of Douglas Hyde’s political ideology. These sources produced by Hyde consist of a journal kept at the time of the Rising that includes eyewitness details about the event, a written reflection on the events of Easter Week, and a personal statement that he gathered from Charles MacNeill revealing the turmoil experienced by his brother Eoin MacNeill concerning the conflicting plans for the Rising.¹ These ego-documents are an important piece of the enigmatic puzzle that was Hyde’s ideology, particularly where political views are concerned, and they help to reveal his true nature as patriot, future president of Ireland, and pacifist.² Moreover, these documents will serve as an explanation for the manner in which Hyde approached the rebellion and nationalism in general.

Journal writing was not a new pastime for Hyde, as he was documenting his inner thoughts and ideas, his linguistic development, and his coming of age in County Roscommon as far back as 1874 in thirteen diaries that are now housed in the National Library of Ireland.³ Hyde was in the throes of adolescence and all of fourteen when he embarked upon the hobby of diary keeping, and he continued the activity throughout his formative years and beyond, completing his final diary in 1912 at the age of fifty-two. Douglas Hyde was an astute, reflective man who understood the importance of data collection. His awareness of posterity and the importance of keeping memoirs, documenting personal data, and collecting folklore and social-historical documents is evident in his eagerness to keep accurate accounts of his life. In a sense Hyde was an early participant of data collection in the precomputer era who was not unlike modern-day “life-loggers,” who attempt to capture their entire lives, or large portions of their lives, through sensors and wearable electronic devices.⁴ He felt compelled to document significant occasions and was a statistician of sorts who recorded weather patterns, logged financial costs, and produced hunting records with a great foresight that yielded social documents for future generations. Even more so than his published works, his ego-documents truly offer an accurate portrayal of the hidden Hyde.

It is therefore no surprise that Hyde also kept a journal during the Easter Rising that now gives us an insight into the events of that week through his own eyes. He not only documented factual events in the diary but also critically analyzed the Easter Rising, revealing in a separate reflection piece his thoughts on the harsh explosive violence he observed. Drawing on these two sources, along with a statement Hyde gathered that details Eoin MacNeill’s movements and responsibility during the Easter Rising, this essay will bring the audience on a narrative journey, providing insights into Hyde’s personal ideological standpoint and the events of the significantly life-altering Easter Week.

The Easter 1916 diary contains seventy-nine pages of writing and three pages of drawings and jottings. Its entries begin on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, and proceed to give an account of the events through Hyde’s own eyes, making it one of those rare but valued accounts of the Rising that was given greater emphasis during the 2016 centenary celebrations. It supplements other recent projects and publications with rich primary-source evidence, including Mick O’Farrell’s 1916: What the People Saw (2013) and the Letters of 1916 online resource,⁵ as well as older accounts such as the diary of Irish novelist and poet James Stephens (1880–1950), first published in October 1916. Stephens in fact mentions Hyde (referred to as “D. H.”) in his diary, recording on 27 April 1916 an encounter with Hyde in which they discussed the death of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (1878–1916), the well-known Irish writer and radical activist:

I met D. H. His chief emotion is one of astonishment at the organising powers displayed by the Volunteers. We have...