"Words of a Dead Chief" is an important text from a critical period in Irish nationalist politics. Published in 1892, shortly after Charles Stewart Parnell's death, it is a collection of extracts from his speeches, including all of the best-known ones. There is an unmistakeable political even propagandist dimension to the publication. It was written for a nationalist audience and particularly for followers of Parnell. Wyse-Power explains in her preface that the purpose of her 'humble memento' was to keep the principles which Parnell enunciated before the minds of Irish Nationalists 'for whom there should be a rule of political faith and conduct'. She aimed to select such passages as were most characteristic of Parnell, of most vital importance for nationalists to study, remember and take for guidance. This edition includes the original introduction by C. S. Parnell's sister Anna. The book was an immediate bestseller. It was easily accessible to a general audience and proved highly influential, but it went quickly out of print.

This collection of essays commemorates the Parnells of Avondale and simultaneously uses the theme of commemoration to provide an insight into the shifting relationship between history and memory in the case of Charles Stewart Parnell and his family. The essays by two leading Irish historians have an elegiac tone. The authors show an elegant and sympathetic appreciation of Parnell's career and of how he has been viewed in Irish history since his death in 1891. Parnell's nationalism is explored and his political speeches, the significance of his sojourn in Kilmainham, his American connections, his funeral and the rise and decline of 'Ivy day' and other commemorations after his death. The authors also look at the careers of the Parnell women: his mother Delia and his sisters Anna and Fanny who were both political activists and involved in the Ladies' Land League; and his relationship with Katharine O'Shea, later his wife. There is also an essay on his brother and biographer, John Howard Parnell. The essays throw new light on the Parnell family and their place in Irish history. They will be valuable reading for students of nineteenth-century Ireland, the Parnell family and the debate on 'commemoration history'.

This collection of essays commemorates the Parnells of Avondale and simultaneously uses the theme of commemoration to provide an insight into the shifting relationship between history and memory in the case of Charles Stewart Parnell and his family. The essays by two leading Irish historians have an elegiac tone. The authors show an elegant and sympathetic appreciation of Parnell's career and of how he has been viewed in Irish history since his death in 1891. Parnell's nationalism is explored and his political speeches, the significance of his sojourn in Kilmainham, his American connections, his funeral and the rise and decline of 'Ivy day' and other commemorations after his death. The authors also look at the careers of the Parnell women: his mother Delia and his sisters Anna and Fanny who were both political activists and involved in the Ladies' Land League; and his relationship with Katharine O'Shea, later his wife. There is also an essay on his brother and biographer, John Howard Parnell. The essays throw new light on the Parnell family and their place in Irish history. They will be valuable reading for students of nineteenth-century Ireland, the Parnell family and the debate on 'commemoration history'.