Bulmer Hobson a founding member of the Irish Volunteers remembers Patrick Pearse and the Easter Rising.
John Bulmer Hobson was born into a Quaker family in Belfast in 1883. Interested in Irish history and nationalism from an early age, he was sworn into the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood) in 1904, and also held membership of the Gaelic League and Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).
In 1905 he founded the Dungannon Clubs in Belfast with Denis McCullough, a non-sectarian nationalist organisation whose aim was to work towards Ireland’s independence. With Countess Constance Markievicz, he founded Na Fianna Éireann (the Irish National Boy Scouts) in 1909.
In addition to his many activities, he wrote newspaper articles, went on speaking tours in the United States, was instrumental in planning the Howth gun-running, and was secretary and member of the Irish Volunteers provisional council.