The November 11, 1919, Seattle P-I reported that the “Head of So-Called Irish Republic” was greeted by a “Tumultuous Throng” on his arrival in Seattle. Eight months prior, Dev had escaped from London's Lincoln Prison using a key baked inside a fruitcake! He came to the US as a stowaway on a ship, and embarked on a nationwide tour of the US to raise money to fund the Irish War of Independence. Altogether he raised about five and a half million dollars, an extraordinary sum in 1919 (aprox. $72 million today). Above is the report in Seattle P-I, and below is a more detailed report on the visit carried in the Catholic Northwest Progress. Dev also visited Tacoma and Spokane, and altogether visited 72 cities across the US.
The Catholic Northwest Progress newspaper reported that Dev spoke before "a crowd of 6,000 enthusiastic and sympathectically responsive persons" in Seattle. The Progress also printed a map of Ireland to show how Dev's party won over 80% of the Irish vote in the 1918 General Election.
Handwritten on the photo:
“Attorney M. J. Costello Reading Irish Republican Declaration of Independence.”
“The Irish Picnic Wildwood Park Seattle Wa. Aug 17 1919”.
Basil Clemons Photo Co.Read about Dev visiting Butte, Montana, in 1919.
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