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Captain Jack White: Imperialism, Anarchism and the Irish Citizen Army
Captain Jack White DSO (1879 –1946) is a fascinating yet neglected figure in Irish
history. Son of Field Marshal Sir George White V.C., he became a Boer war hero, and
crucially was the first Commandant of the Irish Citizen Army. One of the few notable
figures in Ireland to declare himself an anarchist, he led a remarkable life of action, and
was a most unsystematic thinker. This is a long overdue assessment of his life and
times.
Leo Keohane vividly brings to life the contradictory worlds and glamour of this mercurial
figure, who knew Lord Kitchener, was a dinner companion of King Edward and the
Kaiser, who corresponded with H.G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence and Tolstoy, and shared a
platform with G.B. Shaw, Conan Doyle, Roger Casement and Alice Stopford Green.
The founder of the Irish Citizen Army along with James Connolly, White marched (and
argued) with James Larkin during the 1913 Lockout, worked with Sean O’Casey, liaised
with Constance Markievicz and socialised with most of the Irish activists and literati of
the early twentieth century. A man who lived many lives, White was the ultimate
outsider beset by divided loyalties with an alternative philosophy and an inability to
conform.
history. Son of Field Marshal Sir George White V.C., he became a Boer war hero, and
crucially was the first Commandant of the Irish Citizen Army. One of the few notable
figures in Ireland to declare himself an anarchist, he led a remarkable life of action, and
was a most unsystematic thinker. This is a long overdue assessment of his life and
times.
Leo Keohane vividly brings to life the contradictory worlds and glamour of this mercurial
figure, who knew Lord Kitchener, was a dinner companion of King Edward and the
Kaiser, who corresponded with H.G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence and Tolstoy, and shared a
platform with G.B. Shaw, Conan Doyle, Roger Casement and Alice Stopford Green.
The founder of the Irish Citizen Army along with James Connolly, White marched (and
argued) with James Larkin during the 1913 Lockout, worked with Sean O’Casey, liaised
with Constance Markievicz and socialised with most of the Irish activists and literati of
the early twentieth century. A man who lived many lives, White was the ultimate
outsider beset by divided loyalties with an alternative philosophy and an inability to
conform.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 1, 2018
Leo Keohane's 'Captain Jack White' is a wonderful biography of a most peculiar, yet profound figure in Irish history. Keohane traces White's life from his time as a British colonial soldier fighting in the Boer war to his involvement in Irish revolutionary politics culminating in his part in creating the first working class army in history:the Irish Citizen Army. The author conveys story after story to demonstrate that White's personal philosophy was always that 'personal' if not esoteric. During the highpoint of his involvement in revolutionary Irish politics he never refrained from critiquing his fellow revolutionaries, not from a sectarian position, but a moral one. Although he never quite fit under any label, he was highly respected given his undying commitment towards radical politics.
Keohane expertly contextualizes White personally as well as explaining the broader figures and events occurring at the time, which was super helpful for folks not intimately familiar with some of the lesser known people and events. Keohane also does a superb job in situating all the available primary and secondary work on White. However, some chapters did rely perhaps too heavily on White's autobiography 'Misfit: A Revolutionary Life' without other independent sources. On the other hand, the autobiography is hard to find (if not out of print) which makes Keohane's book essential to anyone interested in Captain Jack White.
Keohane expertly contextualizes White personally as well as explaining the broader figures and events occurring at the time, which was super helpful for folks not intimately familiar with some of the lesser known people and events. Keohane also does a superb job in situating all the available primary and secondary work on White. However, some chapters did rely perhaps too heavily on White's autobiography 'Misfit: A Revolutionary Life' without other independent sources. On the other hand, the autobiography is hard to find (if not out of print) which makes Keohane's book essential to anyone interested in Captain Jack White.
December 16, 2019
An easy to read biography on an interesting and hard to pin down personality. I'd only come across Jack White in O'Casey's History of the Irish Citizen Army so it was surprising to see how involved and active he was in Irish and British politics for decades.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews