WOMEN OF THE REVOLUTION
We only just unearthed these photos of, what some suspect be, Eileen O’Dee ––the feminist revolutionary who singlehandedly fought off 12 brigades of the Black-N-Tans during the War of Independence of 1921.
We think they were taken just days after she had allegedly escaped to New York ––she fled there as there was a price upon her head: “£100 will be paid by the Crown to anyone who has information which leads to the arrest of one Eileen O’Dee (25), wanted for treason, arson, and for being a general menace to the Forces of the Empire”, was writ large on every poster posted around the Dublin docks about which she had to navigate in order to board the ship which, it is said, would have been her final bid for freedom and escape of the noose which was awaiting her at Dublin Castle.
It was said that agents of the Crown were stationed at the New York docks waiting for her to disembark when the ship reached there on the 27th of November 1921 ––but when the ship finally did arrive, the crew said that no such person was ever on board, and what's more, nor did hear of any such person every seeking passage on her when they set sail.
The Crown’s agents, suspecting collusion from these 'American sympathisers', conducted a search of the passenger logs, and they also spoke to everyone onboard ––however, no-one to whom they spoke had even heard of an Eileen O’Dee, let alone heard that she allegedly boarded the same ship on which they just sailed.
To this day ––no-one knows what happened to the famous revolutionary Eileen O’Dee ––some say she jumped ship not 2 miles off the coast of Dublin ––others say that she disguised herself as the now famous acrobat E. Lean Key and that she lived a grand live in New York City for many, many years ––however, the fact remains no-one knows for sure ––so it was with great excitement, for Eileen fans everywhere, that the discovery of these recently emerged photos might put pay to this mystery once and for all ––experts agree that they do indeed depict Eileen O’Dee in New York City in 1921 and some venture to say that they were reportedly taken of Eileen during her New York days when she disguised herself as the Music Hall Gypsy Singer: Mystic Madam McDee ––if this is so, then this is the first glimpse we have Eileen since she set sail on that fateful night of October 1921, when she went down in history as one of the many women of the revolution who made a bid for freedom and the protective embrace of New York City during that trying time of the War of Independence.
