The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-05-05
THE "slNN FEM"
What the Society Is and What II
Stands For.


The Sim Fem, the Irish revolution
airy society, at the door Of which the
uprising in Dublin has been laid, is Of
comparatively recent origin. 1t was
not until 1907 that this latest outgrow-
tn of the Young ireland movement of
lS4S became of enough consequence to
attract to itself any considerable no.
tice, either in or out OF Ireland Late
in that same year branch OF the So
ciety was organized in New York,
then, as now, second only to Dublin it.
self as storm center of Irish agita-
ton.
The name Sim Fem is purely Gaze
lie, pronounced Shinn Fain and is the
Celtic equivalent for Ourselves
Alone more sentenusly expressive
of the sentiment of Ireland for the
Irish, everything English left out. And
indeed, this is the handspring of the
society, its guiding principle and the
basic idea on which 1t was founded and
on which it has attained whatever
momentum II has attained.
a short time after its organization
the Sim Fem was described as an out.
break against orthodox nationalism,
as represented by Redmond and Dillon,
similar to that movement in the re-
evolutionary period of lS4S against the
home rule agitation conducted by
OConnell In 184S the repealers were
condemned by faction as being too
conservative in methods and lacking
in constructive ability, and out of this
radical opposition sprang the Young
Ireland party.
Unlike the Sim Fem, whose leaders
and organizers were men of obscurity
and not distinguished in the councils
of the nationalist party, from whose
pacific methods they revolted, the NOV
ing spirits OF the Young Ireland party
included some OF the brightest minds
Of lreland-poets, historians, writer's
and men of action as well. Among the
leaders were such men of culture as
Charles Gavan Duffy and William
Smith O'Brien and men of more mill
tant mood, like John Mitchell. grand
father Of the present mayor Of New
York; Thomas Francis Meagher, after
wards leader of the famous Irish bri-
gade in the Civil war, and Thomas D.
Arcy MCGEE
The Sim Fein owes its origin to a
protest among the intractable spirits
in the nationalist party against home
rule agitation as unduly deliberate and
impracticable. Its organizers counted
for their strength with the rising gen.
Grafton of Irish on their broader APP
peals to independence and self-reli-
ance, and from the very inception of
the movement was more openly Sc
ditious and disloyal. From the begin
ming CT the movement and ever since
the British government watched the
society, fearing from its indictments
to insurrection and organized resis-
lance to law, just as the Young Ireland
movement eventually developed UNI
der the leadership of John Mitchell.
How we'll founded were their fears the
present rioting in Dublin proves only
| too we'll.
The origin of the Sim Fem Is def.
initely traced to the influence and in
spiration of series of articles by Ar.
| thur Griffith on "The Resurrection of
| Hungary" which were subsequently
reprinted and widely circulated in 4
popular pamphlet form throughout Ire
land. Mr. Grifith's articles drew a
close parallel between the political
condition of Ireland and Hungary, and
| the conclusion was strongly empha-
| sized that Deak's movement for home
| rule in Hungary carried passive resis-
lance to the extremity OF disloyalty
| In the withdrawal of the parliamentary
delegation from Vienna. The parallel
drawn in the articles pointed to the
ACCESSIBILITY of similar movement by
the Irish members at Westminster
The entire argument OF the Griffith
| pamphlets was an mequiyocal mega
ton OF all that O'Connell, Isaac Butt
| Charles Stewart parnell, Redmond and
| Dillon attempted at Westminster. II
was, in fact, modus vivendi held out
to the radicals, revolutionists, separat.
lists and irreconcilables among the
: Irish, who found the constitutionalist
methods Of the nationalists too delib-