Joseph plunkett biography

Irish republican, poet and journalist (1887-1916)

For other people named Joseph Plunkett, see Joseph Plunkett (disambiguation).

Joseph Mary Plunkett (Irish: Seosamh Máire Pluincéid; 21 November 1887 – 4 May 1916) was an Irish republican, poet and journalist.

As a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, he was one of the seven signatories to the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Plunkett married Grace Gifford in 1916, seven hours before his execution.

Background

Plunkett was born at 26 Upper Fitzwilliam Street in one of Dublin's most affluent districts.^[2] Both his parents came from wealthy backgrounds,^[3] and his father, George Noble Plunkett, had been made a papal count.^[4]

Plunkett contracted tuberculosis (TB) at a young age and spent part of his youth in the warmer climates of the Mediterranean and North Africa.

He spent time in Algiers where he studied Arabic literature and language and composed poetry in Arabic.^[5