Madam, – In Frank Callanan’s Essay “Why Joyce, the ‘bohemian aesthete’, was also a political controversialist” (Weekend Review, January 22nd) he refers to Arthur Griffith and his contemporary, and close friend, William Rooney who died on May 6th, 1901, at the age of 28.
My grandfather, Padraig O Caoimh, once recalled that in 1908 or 1909 he was working at the Sinn Féin offices when two men (he described them as “gougers”) walked in, removed a framed photograph of Willie Rooney which was hanging on the wall of Arthur Griffith’s office and brought it out to the landing. One of these men was Jack Rooney, a brother of Willie’s. He smashed the photograph against the bannisters saying “You can take that now, with your kings, lords and commons”.
My grandfather was convinced that that incident was the start of the split between Griffith and the militant faction in Sinn Féin. – Yours, etc,
