The Wolfe Tones Phenomenon

About Alex Fell

Alex Fell is a sociology honors graduate a former senior forensic psychiatric social worker and human rights lawyer. With a love of music from her family background as the daughter and great granddaughter of prominent musicians and personal experience she has a strong sense of justice. The Wolfe Tones'' story reeks of injustice. This is her third book. In addition to her second commissioned book the Complete Book of In Hand Showing she wrote the ground breaking first book ever on The Irish Draught Horse which collated oral history and pedigree information in the nick of time from the old men who kept the breed alive in the teeth of the destructive policies of in that case the Department of Agriculture interviewing finding lost records and compiling pedigree charts. It is relevant to this work because Ireland''s only native breed of horse was greatly affected by the Penal Law as was Irish folk music. It is also an international star as are the Wolfe Tones and both are worthy of immense national pride. Irishness is something she took for granted only very recently discovering the achievements of Charlotte Despard the suffragette a distant relative. She too had cared about Irish injustice only in the early 20th century when helped by her friend Maud Gonne she morally and financially supported strikers and prisoners'' families. The strange thing is that Charlotte Despard''s brother as Field Marshal French was instrumental in recognising and registering the Irish Draught Horse discovered also after that book was written. A link to Irish music too in the form of another remote relative Percy French a writer of music hall songs. Researching this book finally explained why her grandfather chose to call his son Parnell.