HIGH TREASON, NO TRIFLE: THE EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF ARTHUR LYNCH (1861-1934)

Colonel Arthur Lynch of Smythesdale, Victoria, engineer, writer, journalist and son of one of the heroes of Eureka, went to South Africa to report on the Anglo-Boer war.  He quickly swore allegiance to the Transvaal republic and led an Irish brigade which fought for the Boers.  For his efforts, he was elected MP by the nationalist voters of Galway and sentenced to death for treason, when he tried to take his seat in the House of Commons. The sentence of death was commuted to life in prison; Lynch was released the following year and given a full pardon in 1907.

Lynch then trained as a doctor and was re-elected to the House of Commons in 1909, this time for  County Clare, his father’s birthplace.  During the first world war, he supported the allies and accepted a commission as Colonel to raise his own Irish battalion.   A life-long republican, he stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in 1918 and was active in the English Republican League.  During the 1920s, he continued to write, publishing an autobiography, novels, poetry and some interesting books on psychology.  Although he professed a deep love of Australia and retained an active interest in political developments here, he never returned to the land of his birth.

The extraordinary case of Arthur Lynch begs interesting questions about identity and allegiance.  In particular, his trial for high treason in January 1903 raises legal, political and cultural issues, some of which will be discussed in this seminar.  His counsel argued that he should be tried in Ireland and that, in any case, as a citizen of the South African republic, he could not be guilty of treason against Britain.  Lynch suggested that, as an Australian, he should be tried in Australia.

Pauric Travers is Principal Lecturer in History at St Patrick’s College, Dublin City University.  He has recently completed two terms as President of St Patrick’s College and was formerly Dean of Humanities at DCU.  A graduate of ANU, he is currently working on a biography of Arthur Lynch and a study of conscription during the First World War.