Arthur Clery
Irish politician and nationalist activist (1879-1932)
Arthur Edward Clery (25 October 1879 – 20 November 1932) was an Irish republican politician and university professor.
Early life and education
Clery was born at 46 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, to Arthur Clery (who also used the names Arthur Patrick O'Clery and Arthur Ua Cléirigh), a barrister, and Catherine Moylan. His father, who practised in India, published books on early Irish history.
Clery was brought up to a considerable extent by a relative, Charles Dawson. A cousin, William Dawson (who used the pen-name "Avis"), became his closest friend and associate. Clery was educated at the Catholic University School on Leeson Street (where he acquired the confirmation name "Chanel" in honour of the Marist martyr Peter Chanel, which he often used as a pseudonym), at Clongowes Wood College, and University College in Stephen's Green. He was a university contemporary of James Joyce.
Professional life
Clery's principal themes included the difficulties of Roman Catholic graduates seeking professional employment, dramatic criticism (he hailed Lady Gregory's play Kincora as the Abbey Theatre's first masterpiece but was repulsed by the works of Synge), Catholic-Protestant rivalry, tension within the Dublin professional class, and the vagaries of the Gaelic revival movement.
Clery advocated partition on the basis of a two nation theory, first advanced in 1904–1905 (possibly in response to William O'Brien's advocacy of securing Home Rule through compromise with moderate Unionists). Several of his articles on the subject were reprinted in his 1907 essay collection, The Idea of a Nation.
“Arthur Clery” enters the record as irish politician and nationalist activist (1879-1932). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Arthur, Clery and Irish can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4798282. VIAF identifies the subject as 45750586. The Library of Congress control number is n85250942. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1879, 1932, 1904 and 1905.
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This entry incorporates text from “Arthur Clery” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.