Statue In Stephen's Green - Robert Emmet (4 March 1778 – 20 September 1803)

Statue In Stephen's Green - Robert Emmet (4 March 1778 – 20 September 1803), originally uploaded by infomatique.

Robert Emmet (4 March 1778 – 20 September 1803) was an Irish nationalist, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1803 and was captured, tried and executed for high treason.

Although Emmet's rebellion was a complete failure, he became an heroic figure in Irish history. His speech from the dock is widely quoted and remembered, especially among Irish nationalists. Emmet's housekeeper, Anne Devlin, is also remembered in Irish history for enduring torture without providing information to the authorities.

Robert Emmet came from a family who were wealthy Protestants who sympathized with the Catholics who did not have fair representation in English Parliament. The Emmet family also sympathized with the American Revolution. From a very early age Robert Emmet’s political and social aspirations views were defined.

Emmet's remains were first delivered to Newgate Prison and then back to Kilmainham Gaol, where the jailer was under instructions that if no-one claimed them they were to be buried in a nearby hospital's burial grounds called 'Bully's Acre' in Kilmainham. A later search there found no remains as it appeared that Emmet's remains were secretly removed from Bully's Acre and reinterred in St Michan's, a church with strong United Irish associations, though it was never confirmed.

There is much mystery and speculation regarding the whereabouts of Emmet's remains. It was suspected that they were buried secretly in the vault of a Dublin Anglican church. When the vault was inspected in the 1950s a headless corpse was found, suspected of being Emmet's, but could not be identified. Widely accepted as the most plausible theory put forth was that Emmett's remains were transferred to the Church of Ireland in St Peter's Church in Dublin under cover of the burial of Robert's sister, Mary Anne Holmes, in 1804. In the 1980s the church was turned into a night club and all the coffins removed from the vaults. The church has since been demolished.