Mayor Ardagh unveils statue to Anne Develin at Rathfarnham Village

03/03/2004

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Mayor Ardagh unveils statue to Anne Devlin  at Rathfarnham Village

Mayor Máire Ardagh, South Dublin County Council will unveil a life-size bronze statue of Anne Devlin, loyal friend and supporter of Robert Emmets in Rathfarnham Village on Thursday 4th March at 12pm.

Plans to erect the statue began in November 2002 when the Council was approached by The Robert Emmet Association and the Anne Devlin Commemoration Association with a request to make a lasting contribution to the bicentenary commemorations of the 1803 Rising.”

After wide consultation it was decided that the most appropriate memorial would be a life-size bronze statue of Anne Devlin, to be erected at the landscaped area located at the end of Main Street at its junction with Butterfield Avenue. Following a resolution at the Council's Terenure/Rathfarnham Area Committee, arrangements to commission the proposed statue to add to the enhancement of the area and contribute considerably to the upgrading of the historic village were put in place.

The sculptor selected was Ms Clodagh Emoe, a native of Tallaght and support from the Council in terms of more than forty per cent of the €50,000 cost of the project moved the project along.
The site was generously provided by South Dublin County Council and was landscaped by their Parks Department.

History and Background

The Committee is very happy that in recognition of the Emmet connections with Rathfarnham, Philip Emmet and Grenville T. Emmet III, great-great-great-great grandsons of Thomas Addis Emmet, agreed to be their patrons. Philip and members of his family and other Emmet relations are expected to be in attendance at the unveiling on 4th March.
“The day was decided upon because 4th March is Emmet’s birthday, and the location chosen for the statue is associated with both heroic figures,” Chairman of the Anne Devlin Committee, Mr. Frank Connolly, pointed out. “Robert’s brother, Thomas Addis Emmet, barrister and a leading figure in the United Irishmen movement, practised law in Rathfarnham and had a home there, and Anne’s father, Brian Devlin, had a dairy farm just off Butterfield Avenue - or Lane as it was called 200 years ago.” Mr. Connolly added that Robert also was in hiding in the area after the 1803 Rising, and in their searches for him, the local Yeomanry half-hanged Anne to get her to talk before throwing her and members of her family in prison. “Anne Devlin endured three years of imprisonment in Kilmainham Jail and Dublin Castle under frightful conditions,” he said, “much of it in solitary confinement. But in spite of the threats, torture and trickery of the Dublin Castle regime, she remained true to Robert Emmet and the cause for which he died.”

In his short autobiography, the Quaker nationalist, Alfred Webb (1834-1908), mentions Robert Emmet a number of times; he said that in considering the "reasons and motives of the leaders" of Fenianism, he came to sympathise with them, just as "all Ireland does with Emmet". Perhaps he thought of Anne Devlin when he wrote that - the most loyal of Emmet's band of followers.

For further information please Office of the Director of Community Development at Tel 4149270

Issued on behalf of the Council by Head of Corporate Services Benny Hickey
benny.hickey@sdublincoco.ie
Tel 4149000  Ext: 5008