Where, oh where, did Robert Emmet go?
- Helen Walsh Folsom
- Aug 7, 2017
- 2 min read
Robert Emmet (1778 – 1803) was an Irish nationalist and Republican great hero to the Irish Rebellion against England during the late 1700s and very early 1800s. He was a Protestant Anglican that showed much sympathy to the persecuted Catholic Irish. The young idealist endeavored to back a rebellion and miserably failed. He was tried, convicted and executed.
His final speech at his sentencing has resonated throughout over the last two years:
"I am here ready to die. I am not allowed to vindicate my character; no man shall dare to vindicate my character; and when I am prevented from vindicating myself, let no man dare to calumniate me. Let my character and my motives repose in obscurity and peace, till other times and other men can do them justice. Then shall my character be vindicated; then may my epitaph be written."
Robert Emmet has never been forgotten, and his death has not been the end of the story.
For in Emmetsburg, Iowa, the community decided to erect a statue of Robert Emmet and honor the display in the town square.
When the seven foot tall statue was completed, the little town had a difficulty to raise the funding to pay for it. So the sculptor, Jerome Collins, sold it to the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Emmetsburg, Iowa demanded another statue cast and paid for it immediately!
However, this time the town fathers could not agree on where to display the wonderful work of art so they put it away in the basement of a grocery store. Several years later it was in the store keeper's way so he promptly sold it to the Emmett Society in Minnesota for $35.00.
The Minnesota group couldn’t decide where to put the beautifully grafted art so they set it in a backyard in White Haven, Minnesota where it stood among the weeds for twenty two years.
Unexpectedly, in 1958 the statue mysteriously appeared in Emmetsburg, Iowa again!
No one could discover how or who exactly achieved the momentous event, but nevertheless, the impressive image of the young man who died for the freedom of Ireland stands in a place of honor in the town square Emmetsburg, Iowa.
Oh, and in case there is a question regarding Robert Emmet's epitaph? There is no record of it being inscribed anywhere on any tombstone!
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To read more of the story of Robert Emmet and his life and love, read "Ah, Those Irish Colleens!" by Helen Walsh Folsom.
Over the next several weeks, I will be publishing, with the aid of my daughter, Bettse Folsom, a series of answer & questions & snippets about Ireland that many people have asked me during events where I have attended. If you have a question, please contact me by email and I will be happy to address it.
Thank you for reading my blog!
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