Robert Monteith
Have you ever heard of the role of Captain Robert Monteith in the Easter Rising, accompanying Roger Casement to Kerry in a ship laden with German rifles? Or that he was a veteran of the Boer War; that he attended the first meeting of the Irish Volunteers or that he was appointed by de Valera as organiser of the American Association for Recognition of the Irish Republic (1920–22)?
The Irish Press newspaper reported on his death in 1956 but it doesn’t do justice to the important role in had played in Irish history:
CAPT. ROBERT MONTEITH, who accompanied Roger Casement on his submarine voyage from Germany in 1916, and later escaped to the United States, was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Detroit, yesterday. Capt. Monteith died in Detroit on Saturday last, at the age of 77. Relatives and close friends were at the graveside for the funeral, which was private. Mr. Sean G. Ronan, Irish Consul in Chicago, placed a wreath at the graveside on behalf of the Government and the people of Ireland.
"Capt. Monteith will ever be remembered by the Irish people as the associate of Roger Casement, and for his part in the Irish War of Independence," Mr. Ronan said. "The example of men like Capt. Monteith, will Inspire us in our efforts to reintegrate the national territory of Ireland."
Capt. Monteith retired from the Ford Company in Detroit, as a foreman in 1943, and returned to Ireland with his wife four years later. However, his health failed, and he returned to Detroit in 1953, to be with his two daughters, and step-children.
For more information search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )