View source for American Committee for Relief in Ireland

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The '''American Committee for Relief in Ireland''' was formed through the initiative of Dr. William J. Maloney and others in 1920, with the intention of giving financial assistance to civilians in [[Ireland]] who had been injured or  suffered severe financial hardship due to the ongoing [[Irish War of Independence]]. It was only one of several US based [[Philanthropy|philanthropic]] organisations that emerged following [[World War I]] with a view to influencing the [[Treaty of Versailles|post-war settlement]] from their perspective of social justice, economic development and long term stability in [[Europe]]. Some of them concentrated their efforts on events in Ireland, and while activists of Irish [[ethnicity]] were well represented, membership  was far from confined to [[Irish American|Americans of Irish heritage]]. Apart from the ACOMRI, bodies such as the '''American Commission on Irish Independence''' and the '''American Commission on Conditions in Ireland''' raised money and attempted to influence [[US foreign policy#1898 - present|US foreign policy]] in a manner sympathetic to the goal of Irish [[secession]] from the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]].

== Political background ==
This  period of Irish political [[Extremism#Radicalism or extremism?|radicalism]] coincided with a [[Red Scare]] in the United States. [[James Larkin|Jim Larkin]], an [[Irish Transport and General Workers' Union|Irish trade unionist]], who had been closely associated with [[James Connolly]] in Ireland and with the [[Industrial Workers of the World|Wobblies]] in the US, was serving a five-year sentence in [[Sing Sing]] prison for promoting his [[socialism|socialist]] agenda. While his political views differed fundamentally from most of the [[History of Sinn Féin|Sinn Féin]] leadership, [[Irish republicanism]] was seen by many of the American [[Ruling class|establishment]] as based on a questionable [[ideology]]. During the [[Irish war of independence]], the activities of Irish-American fund-raising organisations were viewed with suspicion and kept under close scrutiny by the [[intelligence service]]s including [[J. Edgar Hoover]], head of the General Intelligence Division of the [[FBI#History|Bureau of Investigation]].<ref>Whelan p263,</ref> US policy towards Irish concerns, initially hostile or at best indifferent, became somewhat less so following the [[1920 United States presidential election|1920 U.S. presidential election]] and the landslide victory of [[Warren G. Harding]] over [[James M. Cox]].

== Genesis of the ACOMRI==

Following the [[Burning of Cork|burning of parts of Cork]] on 11 December 1920 by British forces (consisting of the [[Black and Tans]] and the [[Auxiliary Division]]) during the [[Irish War of Independence]], the city's [[Lord Mayor of Cork|Lord Mayor]], [[Donal O'Callaghan]] made approached to the [[American Red Cross]] for humanitarian assistance. The society, having taken advice from U.S. President [[Woodrow Wilson]], the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C.|British embassy in Washington, D.C.]], the [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|Foreign Office]] and the [[British Red Cross Society]], declined his appeal.<ref>Whelan p266</ref> Numerous organisations and committees across the United States, operating independently in raising [[humanitarian aid]] money for Irish causes realised that their funds would not be channelled through the [[American Red Cross|U.S. Committee of the Red Cross]], and so another distribution channel was needed. Five days after the burning of Cork, a widely publicised meeting took place at the Banker's Club in [[New York City]]. It was organised by William Maloney with the intention of establishing a single nationwide organisation. It would have as its  goal, explicitly and solely for the purpose of humanitarian relief, the raising and distribution in Ireland of [[United States dollar|$]]10 million.<ref>Whelan p311</ref>  

The body which soon emerged styled itself 'The American Committee for Relief in Ireland'. One of its founding members, [[Levi Hollingsworth Wood]], approached a Dublin-based businessman and fellow [[Quaker]], James Douglas, requesting his assistance in the local distribution of the funds on a non-partisan basis. In Ireland, Douglas spoke with Laurence O'Neill, the [[Lord Mayor of Dublin]], who in turn contacted senior members of Sinn Féin to inform them of the wishes of the American Committee. These meetings culminated in the establishment of the [[White Cross (organization)|Irish White Cross]], for the purpose of local distribution of the committee's funds. In [[Belfast]], where many [[Irish Catholics]] had been driven out of their homes by Protestant mobs, AMCOMRI purchased land near the [[Falls Road, Belfast|Falls Road]] for 100 houses for refugees in what is named Acomri Street.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McMahon |first1=Seán. |title='Wee Joe' : the life of Joseph Devlin |date=2011 |publisher=Brehon Press |location=Belfast |isbn=978-1905474356|page=187}}</ref><ref>{{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Amcomri+St,+Belfast/@54.5934401,-5.9674583,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x486108879afd1313:0xfac8b8b0e631e7a3!8m2!3d54.5934401!4d-5.9652696|title=Amcomri Street|access-date= 26 March 2022}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
Douglas, James G. Ed. J. Anthony Gaughan: ''Memoirs of Senator James G. Douglas- Concerned Citizen'':University College Dublin Press: 1998: {{ISBN|1-900621-19-3}}

Whelan, Bernadette : ''United States Foreign Policy and Ireland - From Empire to Independence, 1913-29'' :Four Courts Press : 2006 
{{ISBN|978-1-84682-010-6}}

=== References ===
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
''[[The New York Times]]'' contemporary report on the burning of Cork:  "Ambush on Troops the Supposed Cause"[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/12/13/103508502.pdf]<br />Account of the firestorm from a Nationalist perspective.[http://homepage.eircom.net/~corkcounty/Timeline/Cork%20burning.htm]
* [https://archive.org/details/irelandcommitt00amerrich''Report of American Committee for Relief in Ireland'': 1922?] at [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://archive.org/details/reportofirishwhi00irisrich Report of the Irish White Cross] at Internet Archive

[[Category:Irish War of Independence]]
[[Category:Irish-American history]]
[[Category:Philanthropic organizations based in the United States]]