Thomas J. Clarke
By permission of www.1916rising.com

Thomas Clarke (1857-1916) was an Irish revolutionary and one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. He was born in the Isle of Wight to Irish parents. At a young age, he emigrated to America and worked as an explosives operative on construction sites. There he joined Clan na Gael, an organisation consisting of Irish republicans in America. He was recruited to be part of a plot to blow up London Bridge. For his part in this plan, he spent fifteen years in prison in England. After his release, he married Kathleen Daly, who would later also become a well-known republican activist and politician.

The Clarkes moved to Dublin in 1907 to open a shop, the premises of which were often used for meetings. Clarke and his friend Seán Mac Diarmada revived the IRB and began to plan the uprising. Due to the respect accorded to him within the IRB, Clarke was given the honour of being the first signatory to the Proclamation. For his part in the 1916 Rising, he was executed in May 1916 by firing squad in Kilmainham Jail.