Object Detail

Photograph of Robert Monteith

Photograph of Robert Monteith

Autographed photo of Robert Monteith, in Roger Casement's Irish Brigade uniform, dedicated to Gerard Healy (Consul General in New York).

Monteith, Robert (1879–1956), soldier and nationalist, was born 1 March 1879 in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow. Joining the British Army at 16 (he gave his age as 18), he served Royal Horse Artillery in India, and then fought in the Boer war, before returning to Ireland with the rank of sergeant-major (1903) to work in the ordnance survey.

On 25 November 1913 Monteith attended the meeting at the Rotunda in which the Irish Volunteers were established, and immediately joined up. He was stripped of his post in the army, and moved to Limerick where he worked as a drill instructor for Tom Clarke. He was later recruited to help Roger Casement in securing aide from the Germans.

The two developed a close working relationship, and Monteith was with Casement when he landed at Banna strand to counsel against the Rising. Monteith pulled Casement to safety on the strand, but when both Casement and their other companion, Sgt. Beverley, were captured, he was forced to go into hiding.

Monteith spent six months in hiding in Kerry, where he was nursed through malaria, before returning to New York in disguise. He worked a succession of miserable jobs, eventually finding work selling bonds, and later rising to the position of foremen in Ford, before buying a farm and retiring to Michigan.

In 1947 Monteith and his wife returned to Ireland, were he spent six years, but he found it difficult to adjust. His health was poor and he was disappointed by the reception of his book, 'Casement's Last Adventure' (1953). It did not sell well, and he returned to Michigan in 1953 and where he died on 18 February 1956.

(Biographical information: Bridget Hourican. Monteith, Robert. Dictionary of Irish Biography)

Object Details

Creator:
Unknown
Date:
1916
Place:
New York, N.Y.
Format:
Institution:
Rights:
© National Museum of Ireland.
Type:
Subject:
Era:
Language:
English