The Crime of the Century

Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin was a prominent Chicago physician and a member of Clan-na-Gael an American political organization formed to promote Irish independence from British rule. Clan-na-Gael was very effective at raising large sums of money for the cause, but the money was administered in secret by three members of the Executive Board led by Chicago lawyer Alexander Sullivan. When Dr. Cronin criticized the board’s secrecy and accused them of embezzling funds he was denounced as a traitor and a British spy. When his accusations persisted, Sullivan marked him for death and on May 4, 1889 Dr. Cronin disappeared.