Saoirse Irish Freedom na h-Éireann

Number 5 Findlater Place (now Cathal Brugha Street) was the office of Irish Freedom–Saoirse, the ‘official’ publication of the IRB. The establishment of this paper is generally credited to Tom Clarke. As soon as he returned to Ireland in 1907 he recognised the need for a newspaper, but it took him some time to raise the funds. By 1910 he had managed to get enough money to make a start and named Seán MacDermott as the manager. Dr Pat McCartan was the first editor, followed by MacDermott. Its first issue appeared on 15 November 1910. Bulmer Hobson and P.S. O’Hegarty did most of the writing, and other contributors included Casement, Patrick Pearse and Seán O’Casey. The true purpose of its IRB sponsors was made clear in its first issue:

‘We believe in and would work for the independence of Ireland . . . and we use the term with no reservation, stated or implied; we stand for the complete and total separation of Ireland from England and the establishment of an Irish Republic . . . Freedom can take but one form amongst us—a Republic.’

In an early issue, O’Hegarty concluded an article thus: ‘Concessions be damned, England, we want our country!’  (historyIreland.com)

Edition Count	Page Count	Years
		1910-1937
177	1103	*Out of print