Sister of executed revolutionary tells story behind Ireland's greatest love song in resurfaced clip
A clip from an interview with the sister of Irish revolutionary and poet Joseph Mary Plunkett has resurfaced, revealing the true meaning of Ireland's most treasured love song.
Fiona Plunkett spoke about her brother, Joseph Plunkett
, and his wife, Grace Gifford, whose
love story inspired the song Grace.
Written by Jim McCann, a former member of the Dubliners
, the song tells the tale of
the young revolutionary who married his lover just hours before he was set to be executed
by British soldiers. Plunkett was arrested and sent to
Kilmainham Gaol
after the 1916 Rising.
The heartbreaking song has become one of Ireland's most famous of all time, and in an interview in 1966, Fiona shared details of her brother's tragic death.
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'I don't like the idea of him being called Joseph Mary Plunkett,' Fiona said.
'He was never called that in his lifetime. By anybody. That started immediately after his death. And people to this day, speaking to me about him, call him Joseph Mary Plunkett with great formality…'
'Forgetting that he was my brother, and I didn't call him Joseph Mary Plunkett. Nobody called him that.'
The interviewer asked Fiona about her brother's marriage to Grace Gifford, just hours before his
execution
, saying, 'You saw Grace Gifford shortly after this,' to which Fiona said that she had. 'Did she speak about this event?'
'Of course she did,' Fiona said, smiling. 'You see, her mother might have thrown her out. So that was a very good reason to get married then. And she had become a catholic not so long before, and I was her godmother.'
'Her mother was very keenly against that,' Fiona continued, referencing the fact that Grace was raised as a Protestant.
'Very keenly anti-catholic and a very strong character. That was a good reason for us to have the right to look after her.'
Fiona continued that the wedding between her brother and Grace was set to take place on Easter Sunday, about two weeks before Joseph was executed.
The interviewer asked, 'Did Grace think that Joe would not be shot?'
'Oh, I think she was quite certain he would be shot,' Fiona said. 'Nobody had any hope of anything else."
'But when she came in to tell us about the (plan to get married)… The next morning, the news had been put in the paper that he would get three years penal servitude, and she said, 'I can still hope.' And we said, 'Oh, Grace, don't hope. There's nothing to hope for.''
Joseph was executed by firing squad on May 4,
1916.
He was one of 13 executed in the space of a week in Kilmainham Gaol.
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