Land League Banner

"This is an important Parnellite painted cloth banner with a portrait of Michael Davitt in an oval centrepiece surrounded by national emblems including both a harp and a wolf hound, alongside provincial coats of arms. The words ‘Craughwell in the Vanguard’ are visible on the front and on the reverse there is a verse from ‘The West’s Awake’, reading ‘.... Let Landlords Quake We’ll Watch Till Death for Erin’s Sake.’ This banner would have led an anti- British parade, protesting against the landlords at the time. It was held locally and in private for many years and was only brought out following Irish independence. When I was a young man I was given it as a present via my father. He was a local postman, very interested in history, and did a lot of work for people who he called upon. A woman gave it to him. She had secretly kept it under a tablecloth in her parlour for many years, insisting that it never be shown until Ireland was a nation once again."